


the breaking of the roof

by jjujju



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, But not all the time, F/F, Fluff, Mention of Panic Attack, Mention of drinking, Mention of sex, Slow Burn, a lot of panic gay, chaejeongmo focused, kinda funny, mention of anxiety, mention of smoking, they are all artists, they are all useless lesbians, they are just trying bro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 41,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22311385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjujju/pseuds/jjujju
Summary: chaeyoung and mina dated years ago but remained friends. which was very much fine. until it wasn't.chaeyoung tries to help her friends' love life and plays cupid/detective so everyone can be happy, but forgets to take care of her own feelings.jeongyeon just wants some peace and quiet tbh
Relationships: Chong Ting Yan | Elkie/Chou Tzuyu, Hirai Momo/Im Nayeon, Kim Dahyun/Minatozaki Sana, Lee Sunmi/Yoo Jeongyeon, Minatozaki Sana/Park Jisoo | Jihyo, Myoui Mina/Son Chaeyoung
Comments: 29
Kudos: 244





	1. glances

**Author's Note:**

> hi :)) this is the first chapter and, just like the title, is a first glance on the characters and the pairings
> 
> please don't give up on me too soon, i swear there's more action to come 
> 
> (english is not my first language, sorry if things feel wanky)

“Wait, did you hear that?”

Chaeyoung’s house party was getting out of hand and she was getting on her toes. A thump at the top of the stairs was not a good sign. What could be the next fucking disaster?

“Huh, I did. I bet Nayeon and Ji found the karaoke machine thingy…” and Momo was getting drunker and drunker. Chaeyoung mentally cursed herself and her friend. It was her job to keep her sober and fine.

“And to think inviting Nayeon was a good idea…” maybe getting fucked up drunk wasn’t a bad idea after all, Momo.

“Hey! Nayeon is always a good idea.”

Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. What a hopeless fool in love…

“Attention everyone!” the way Jihyo’s voice could reach such high decibels was always impressive. "We have found Chaeng’s old karaoke machine!”

The entire house erupted into celebratory screams. Momo didn’t really comprehend what was going on, but she was happy everyone was happy. Chaeyoung wasn’t exactly cheery, nothing about the night had gone the way she wanted. Momo was drunk and sad because of Nayeon – strike 1. Mina barely talked to her the entire party, which only fed Chaeng’s paranoia – strike 2. And now, a tipsy Jihyo and a hysterical Nayeon decided it would be fun to build an impromptu stage out of tables and chairs for the goddamn karaoke. Her neighbors would not be happy.

She spotted Mina in the corner of the living room, talking to Tzuyu and laughing about the scene. Gosh, how she wished she had Nayeon’s confidence, or Tzuyu’s lack of care so she could just go over there and…

“SING!”

The brightest flashlight Chaeyoung had ever seen was pointing directly to her face and all of her guest’s eyes glued to hers expecting her to do… something.

“Uhm… me? Sing?”

“Yes, cavewoman. Sing!” Nayeon said handing her the microphone.

For fuck’s sake.

She downed the rest of whatever Momo was drinking – not without the Japanese woman complaining – and somehow managed to walk to the “stage”. She hated the fact that she was a somewhat famous singer and was labeled the Artistic Friend™ of the group. 99% of the people in the room could sing but NO she had to be the chosen one. She loved her friends, but not tonight.

“Uhm… hi. My name is Chaeyoung, I’m your host tonight - obviously. I was doing just fine there in the kitchen but ok. I’ll sing… a song, that exists in this karaoke… thingy.”

She spotted WHAM’s “Last Christmas” on the selection screen and played it. It was barely February but she didn’t really care. Neither did the guests since they drunkenly started chanting the lyrics along. Chaeyoung glanced at Mina from time to time throughout the song and noticed how in some verses the girl would flinch and look away. She mostly watched the younger girl intently, and smiled – it seemed almost an apologetic smile but Chaeyoung just brushed it off as just one more delusion. The perks of being friends with your ex.

Right after she finished the last verse of the song and was about to walk out of the handmade stage, she saw that Jihyo and Sana had been dancing to the song face to face. Dahyun was on the opposite end of the room and looked so hurt from watching the same scene Chaeyoung could cry. It was like she couldn’t do anything right. She couldn’t even keep her childhood best friend safe – strike 4.

The night wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.

\--

“You know I hear you talking, but I still don’t have my coffee.”

Sometimes Chaeyoung still questioned why she even befriended Dahyun in the first place.

Chaeyoung rolled her eyes and poured the black liquid into a mug, filled the rest with cream and what seemed like two pounds of sugar to her.

“Happy now?”

“Yes, thank you very much,” Dahyun responded after taking a sip.

“Anyways, as I was saying, Bach is superior.”

“Nu-uh. Beethoven.”

“Bach was so much ahead of his time! He was a goddamn genius!”

“Beethoven was fucking deaf! DEAF!”

“Jesus Christ, will you two stop being nerds and give me some ibuprofen?” Momo appeared in the kitchen visibly hungover.

“Sorry Moguri… Here. And take some coffee too.” Chaeyoung handed the pain killer and a mug with water.

“Thanks, Chaengie. Where’s Tzuyu? I thought she was going to spend the night too.”

“I actually don’t remember her leaving, but she texted saying she was at Elkie’s.” Chaeyoung frowned trying to remember last night's events.

“Ooh, at least someone got lucky last night!” Dahyun wiggled her eyebrows in the funny way the girls loved and laughed about.

“At least someone did…” Momo brooded over her cup of coffee. Chaeyoung and Dahyun shared a worried look but the moment was soon over. “I’m starving. What’s for breakfast?”

\--

“No! Stay away from me! Stand back!”

“You’re not running away from these lips, Yoo Jeongyeon!”

“Jihyo, please do something! Eeeeewwwwwww get way from meeeeee!”

“Ok, children, enough. Nayeon, leave the poor girl alone.”

“’Poor girl’? She’d be lucky to kiss me.”

“If throwing up is considered lucky, then yeah I would be.” Nayeon pushed the girl off the couch, which was answered with a slap on her leg and a Look™ from God Jihyo.

“Ok, I’ll stay away from her... IF, and only if, she does the dishes tonight.”

“Deal.”

“Thank God the bickering stopped. Now can we please watch this next episode quietly?”

“Ok grandma. Y’know, if you hadn’t drank that much last night, you wouldn’t be this tired today.” Nayeon received another Look™. “I know I have no place in this since I also drank a lot, but… just saying.” 

“If she had slept with Sana last night she wouldn’t have drunk so much…” Jeongyeon received a pillow slap on her face. Very much worth it.

“Yah! Stop teasing me and watch TV with me, you bastards!”

“Stop running away from your feelings, then, you coward!” Nayeon was just teasing, and Jeongyeon knew Jihyo knew. Still, Jihyo looked hurt, and Jeongyeon was instantly by her side, holding her close and giving Nayeon a Look™.

“You guys know it’s not that simple.” Jihyo’s words were almost a whisper. Jeong knew she was holding back tears.

“I’m sorry, Jihyo-ya, I was just teasing...” Nayeon also crawled onto the other couch to hug her best friend.

“I know, bunny. It’s just… hard.”

They didn’t know exactly what was going on inside Jihyo’s mind or heart, but they knew she was struggling. The two older girls showered her with kisses on the face and head and proceeded to watch this British TV show Jihyo liked. Quietly, to not disturb God Jihyo’s peace.

\--

"Hey!"

That sounded just like... wait what?

"Oh! Hey Mina. Fancy seeing you here."

Mina flashed one of her gummy smiles and a small laugh.

"Yeah, I remebered how much you loved this place and how you made me like this place so..." Mina stance always made Chaeyoung think of penguins. Cute, beautiful, penguins...

Chaeyoung was zoning out watching the girl's moles. She scratched her back in an attempt to bring herself back to Earth.

"Um, yeah. It's the best cafe/record store in the city - or in the country, dare I say."

"If you say so." Another gummy smile. _Just chill, Son. You are friends, very good friends. For years, in fact_. "Want to join me? I've ordered a chocolate croissant but i think it's too much food for me. Well, I- uh I know you don't really like candy but maybe, I don't know..."

"Yeah, no, sure, I'll join you."

\--

"HAHAHAHA I BLOODY KNEW IT!"

"Knew what?" Momo was terribly confused. She was used to Sana's randomly screaming, but she was so concentrated in this TV show Jihyo recommended she was caught by surprise this time.

"Mina. Is. Still. In love. With CHAEYOUNGIE!!!"

"Oh... did she tell you that? She didn't say anything to me..."

Would Mina keep this from her?

"No, she didn't say anything. But she did text me saying she and Chaeng ran into each other at that hippie cafe they used to go on dates and they had coffee together AND shared a chocolate croissant!"

"They could be just friends who bumped into each other and had a friendly encouter."

"It is a possibility... but have you noticed the way Mina looked at her last night when she was singing WHAM?"

"Um... not really."

"Oh my God I'm so excited! They were totally meant for each other, y'know. It was just bad timing and-"

Momo shrugged and Sana's voice slowly drifted away. Being completly honest, she didn't really care about Mina and Chaeyoung and whatever was going on between them. She just wanted to wacth TV. And Nayeon. She also desperately needed to text Chaeng, her Nayeon-obsession confidante, about last night and tell her all over again about how she was still hopelessly in love - even though the older girl kept misreading her flirting attempts.

_Maybe after this episode_.


	2. conversationss that make you go hmmm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> things get a little more real and more confusing... it's scary. feelings are messy.
> 
> also, they are especially useless lesbians here and don't know how to communicate but bare with them

_i just... idk chaengie, i don't wanna ruin my friendship with her..._

**02:17 AM**

_bruh, if you're worried about that then idk if you can actually trust her_

_as a friend_

**02:17 AM. READ**

_that's not the point..._

_you know how nayeon gets weird when it comes to romantic stuff_

_i'm afraid she'll freak out or smth_

**02:19 AM**

_momo..._

_i'm always here for you to unwind and cry on my shoulder_

_but you know damn right that you can't sort things out with her_

_without actually YKNOW talkin to her!!_

**02:20 AM. READ**

_i love you momoring_

_please get well_

_< 3_

**02:27 AM. READ**

\--

Chaeyoung always surprised herself with how much she could work and pretend nothing else was happening in her life. Working until 3 AM and sleeping until noon was routine when she was in the process of writing another album - alongside posting covers on YouTube. She loved her job, but goddammit was it stressful.

She stratched her back one last time before closing down her computer and deciding it was a long enough day. She had a full day of resting the next 24h so she didn't mind pulling an all nighter and going all the way to finish editing this video.

Jeongyeon suddenly texted her. It was almost 5 AM. Did she already woke up or did she also have an unhealthy sleep schedule like Chaeyoung? This woman was unpredictable.

Chaeyoung decided to call her instead of answering her message.

"Yo, Yoo. What's up?"

_"Yah! Why can't you text me back like a normal person?"_

"'Cause I'm a weirdo. I'm weird. Have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on?"

_"Shut up, midget. Anyways, I texted because it's been a while since we hung out. Outside of your crazy parties, I mean. What do you say we have a sleepover tonight?"_

"Sounds good. Can I also invite Tzuyu? She also promised to hang out with me."

_"No problemo my dude. Gotta go, I wanna catch the sunrise on my run. I suppose you're going to bed right now, so goodnight."_

Chaeyoung sometimes forgot how well Jeongyeon knew her.

"Ok, creep. And good morning to you. Bye!"

She hung up the phone with a smile. She missed moments like these with her friends, life got in their way most of the time - trying to survive off of arts in this chaotic city was hard.

//

Momo had barely stepped her foot inside the house, sweat dripping down her forehead, ankles stinging, three headaches at the same time, and she could already hear Sana's loud ass laugh and Mina's quiet one. Jesus Christ, why did she agree on movie night knowing she'd be basically powder after work?

"Momoring! We can't choose between a horror movie or Harry Potter... which one?" Sana had the biggest smile on her face. It was clear she had been waiting all week for this night.

Unfortunately for her best friend and roommate, Momo didn't really care about the movies. She just wanted a hot shower and a nap. But she was a good friend. She had to be. Sana deserved more.

"Um... I don't know. I'm fine with whatever, you guys choose."

"Always so helpful! Thanks, Momo." Sana joked. Momo rolled her eyes and Mina chuckled.

"Alright, I'll take a quick shower. You guys make some popcorn, and I don't mind if you start the movie without me."

They ended up watching Harry Potter. Mina could get anything with that pout of hers if she wanted. Momo wasn't entirely too sure which Harry Potter movie it was, she was more focused on texting Nayeon. The Korean girl was out with some of her colleagues from theatre - Momo only knew Yeri and Rosé, she didn't know the rest of the crew's names, but knew they were good people.

The thing was, Nayeon was already drunk and sending Momo some questionable text messages and snaps. Someone outside of their bubble would say they were flirting, but Momo knew it wasn't like that. It never was, for some God forsaken reason. Was it? Maybe this time it was different. No, Nayeon was just drunk, maybe a little left out at the reunion, or maybe bored. Why was it always so complicated with her?

The movie ended. Momo now realized she spent two hours (or more, Harry Potter movies were always a mystery to her) texting Nayeon and didn't even pay attention to her best friends. She felt bad. She'd make it up to them by... talking? She didn't want to talk, but if meant being a good friend, she'd do it.

"Do you guys want anything more than popcorn? I can cook something if you want." Momo tried.

"Oh, it's ok, Moguri. You're clearly exhausted, we'll just make some instant ramen, yeah?" Sana was always so nice. Momo didn't deserve her.

Mina nodded and followed the other two to the kitchen. Momo was already boiling the water and Sana retrieving the noodles inside microwavable paper cups from the pantry.

Momo barely looked at Mina ever since she arrived - or in the last weeks if she could be honest to herself. Momo didn't know why exactly, it was like they didn't have a proper chance to talk and just dragged it until there was nothing to say. Momo hated this feeling. She loved Mina, they were best friends. But it always seemed like they were closer to Sana - both of them; but never that close to each other. Either way, it still sucked that they weren't talking for no reason at all. Momo was tired, had been this entire month, dancing season was especially tough after the holidays. Too tired to reignite the spark of their friendship. Ramen sounded easier.

The worst part, she could tell Mina also sensed this distance between them and seemed as upset, if not more. Mina was too precious and needed to be protected. Not by her, not at that moment.

"Earth to Momo!" Sana voice pierced through her headache.

"Huh?! What?"

"Chicken or veggie flavored?"

"Uh... chicken, please."

"Coming right up!"

//

It was the third time Tzuyu's cheeks gained a red color after staring at her phone. Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung shared a look that said "ok, time to tease the dumb dumb in love".

"Say hi to Elkie for us." Chaeyoung started.

"Ah, yes. And tell her to stop texting you, we're trying to have a sleepover."

Tzuyu rolled her eyes and threw her phone away - not before posing for a selfie to her girlfriend.

"Ok, done. Sorry guys. What's tonight plans?"

"Well, we've already checked the 'light teasing you for being in love' box."

"Check!" Jeongyeon followed.

"There's still some intense teasing to be done, but maybe later. We could watch some dumb videos on YouTube or play videogames."

"Sounds good to me." Tzuyu completely ignored the other girls' antics. "But we can't only talk about _my_ love life, that's unfair. What's going on for you guys?"

Jeongyeon noticed the way Tzuyu looked at Chaeyoung. Something was going on. The shorter girl didn't seem to notice Tzuyu's eyes, just lost in her own thoughts. Yeah, something was definitely up, but it wasn't Jeongyeon's place. She spoke up to save Chaeyoung from Tzuyu questioning glance.

"You know, Tzuyuy. Nothing's 'up' for me."

"No one? Not even someone you fancy?"

Jeongyeon shook her head.

"Nah... I'm fine by myself. Besides, I'm trying to focus on me and my work. It's not easy being a filmmaker with no university on my resumé, unlike you, goldstar student Tzuyu-a."

"Ok, boomer." Tzuyu rolled her eyes jokingly, receiving a pillow thrown on her face by the older girl.

"Yeah, yeah, me too. There's a lot to do these days..." Chaeyoung said, but it was clear she was lying through her teeth. Tzuyu's eyebrows moved in a scary way.

"So..." Jeongyeon clapped, drawing the attention to herself. "Netflix or YouTube?"

Chaeyoung owed her one.

Jeongyeon knew Chaeyoung would talk about what was going when she was ready, especially with Tzuyu... right?

//

"So... you and Chaeyoung, huh?" Sana started the teasing while they ate their noodles.

"Um... what do you mean?"

"You guys 'randomly' 'bumped' into each other last week, right?" Sana did the whole quotations air signs.

Momo just kept on eating and listening.

"I mean, yeah... but that was it. It was completely accidental. We just... talked. Over coffee."

"And a chocolate croissant."

"Yeah... what's-"

"Are you sure it was just a friendly thing?"

"Sana, Chaeyoung and I are just friends. Have been for years now. We're already on the 'friendly solo hangouts' base. Don't worry."

"Ok, if you say so..." Sana slurped some more noodles and changed the subject to spare Mina. For now. "Momo, how was work today?"

"Oh my God, don't even get me started..." Momo was already getting worked up from remembering the exhausting day she had. "You know that kid Hyung Seok? He tried to show off again! I can't wrap my head around on how much energy he puts into trying to be the Cool Guy instead of actually learning something useful from my classes, Jesus fucking Christ..."

"Sheesh, talk about a pain in the ass."

Momo only nodded, mouth too full of food.

"Well, it's good to know I'm not the only one who had a shitty day" Mina said. "My dad texts me the weirdest questions and makes sure I'm doing a 'good job' running the company over here... He still doesn't trust me and OH MY GOD I couldn't care less about this job."

"Yikes, Mina... I know it's a delicate subject, but have you ever thought of maybe quitting?"

"You know it's not that easy, Sana..."

"I know, I know..."

There was a lot of tension in the air, too many unspoken things. So much that even Momo was getting uncomfortable. She had to do something to ease the mood.

"Do you guys remember when we left everything behind us to go and dance? We won so many competitions. I miss those days."

Sana and Mina chuckled.

"Yeah, we had some good times." Mina smiled nostalgically.

"And look at us now."

Sana probably wanted to make a comment on how much they've grown, but it came off so... sad. It was clear Sana was bothered by something. Momo couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly - maybe the clear distance between the other two friends? Or maybe the tension between her and Jihyo... and Dahyun. Speaking of...

"Oh! Dahyun is coming over, is that ok? Forgot to tell you guys, but I was texting her earlier and she has nothing to do after her orchestra practice, so, y'know, I invited her."

Sana was so pure - even when trying to fix up the mood of the room and avoid the apparent sadness of her remark. Momo broke out her first genuine smile of the night.

"Of course, Sana, the more the merrier. Just tell her to bring more food."

//

Jihyo was just _really_ trying hard to have a good time. Rare were the moments she had the place to herself - mostly because she was barely home, and when she had days off, Nayeon was there too. With Nayeon hopping from bar to bar, she could have all the peace she wanted and needed, and she finally saved up some money from her photo shoots to buy those expansive face masks and bath bombs. It was supposed to be a calm and breezy night, she didn't even worry about Nayeon heavy drinking, she knew the girl could take care of herself.

Her mistake was opening the Instagram app. She posted a selfie onto her story - she was finally gaining some visibility from her acting gigs and had to maintain her followers entertained, after all - and continued to check out her friends' stories. One of them, Sana's.

She immediately tensed up at the picture. Sana and Dahyun. Lying down on a couch, making cute faces.

Her heart stinged. Or stopped. She couldn't tell. But it sure did something to her heart.

Was it jealousy? It couldn't be. She knew they'd be hanging out. It wasn't rare Dahyun meddling into the Japanese girls' movie nights, she was basically their pet. It wasn't the first time Jihyo had seen such scene. But why did it mess so much with her emotions this time?

The more she thought about it, the less it hurt, but the more she just wished she was _there_ , with _them_.

Feelings were too confusing for Jihyo. She knew it was wrong to dismiss them, she'd call Nayeon out for the same reason, but it was all she could do at the moment. She'd deal with them at a different time, she had some ice cream to eat and a new season of her favorite TV show to finish. Her feelings could wait.

But could they wait for her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bruh. here's the thing. i really want Jeongyeon to have a pairing but idk it doesn't seem to fit in this story ??? what are your thoughts on Jeong x Somi?


	3. flashbacks: mina and chaeyoung (I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a little throwback to when chaeyoung and mina first met and some lovey dovey moments

_“Hey guys, so…” Dahyun seemed so fidgety, it wasn’t like her to be this nervous when talking in front of people, especially her friends. “I know the six of us have become friends quite recently and are still getting to know each other, but I’ve met these three really nice Japanese girls, whom I’m completely smitten by, and I thought you guys would also enjoy their company. No pressure to adopt them into our little artistic friend group, let’s just hang out with them tonight and see what happens, yeah?”_

_The other five girls nodded. They all knew why she was giving this introduction speech: neither Chaeyoung nor Jeongyeon liked changes in their routine, let alone their social structure._

_“Ok, then!” Dahyun clapped pleased enough with their response. “Please welcome Sana, Momo and… oh. Where’s Mina?” Dahyun and the two lost Japanese girl looked behind them looking for the third one. “There she is! And Mina!”_

_Mina slid her feet like a penguin, revealing herself to the five expectant girls in the apartment with a shy little “hi” and a wave._

_It was like Chaeyoung’s world froze. She couldn’t hear the excited greetings and welcomes of her friends, all she could focus on was this awkward and gorgeous angel in front of her, inside her apartment. She never believed in fate or love at first sight, but for a moment, she did._

_//_

_“Let me see if I understood this right.” Mina was holding a finger next to her mouth, pretending she was thinking._

_“Sure.” Chaeyoung couldn’t help but chuckle, the girl was too cute._

_“When you first saw me, that ball of awkwardness and insecurity in person, that one night three months ago, you were certain,_ convinced _it was fate?”_

_“Look,” Chaeyoung jitters were obvious in her laugh. “I know it may seem_ absurd _, I mean this is like our third date, but, yes, I am convinced it was fate.”_

_Mina smiled brightly and her eyes shined. Chaeyoung could swear she saw all the stars of the universe in them._

_“Well, good to know. ‘Cause I can also swear destiny is real. Just like love at first sight.”_

_Chaeyoung looked down and chuckled yet again. She couldn’t believe any of this was real. Admitting her feelings for Mina and having them reciprocated felt almost like a miracle. Relieve washed up on her, giving a new and unexpected confidence. She grabbed Mina’s hand and they walked down the street, the sunset behind them, with backs and hearts warm._

_//_

_“She’s just so… Argh!”_

_“So…?” Dahyun tried to understand Chaeyoung’s feelings a little better._

_“Oh, you know it, Dahyun.” Tzuyu was always the best at reading people and understanding Chaeyoung senseless ramblings or random sounds._

_\--_

_“She’s just so… I don’t even know how to put it into words.” Mina’s dreamy eyes were searching the ceiling, her brain gears spinning._

_“Oh my God, Minari! I knew you had a crush on her, but I’m starting to think you’re in love,” teased Sana._

_Momo laughed, but understood the younger girl. “I get it Mina-chan, I know how you feel.” Oh, and how she did._

_“Thank you, Momo!”_

_\--_

_“It’s like… I’ve never felt like this before. Not even for music!”_

_“Oh, yeah, she’s completely in love,” murmured Dahyun, leaning closer to Tzuyu, making her laugh._

_\--_

_“It feels like…” Mina paused, thinking of a way to describe how she felt. “It feels like dancing again.”_

_And that’s when Momo and Sana knew the gravity of the situation – they even shared a Look™._

_//_

_The grass was soft, but made Mina shiver from the cold of the wet floor. Chaeyoung soon appeared with a blanket she just so happened to have in the back seat of her car – just a little bit planned._

_“Thanks, Chaengie.” The softness of Mina voice was one of the most beautiful things Chaeyoung could ever experience, topped only by the softness of the older girl’s skin._

_They lied down on the blanket instead of the grass and admired the sky – at least Mina did, Chaeyoung couldn’t take her eyes off of the other girl. Mina laughed, noticing the Korean’s girl stare and turned her face to hers._

_“I thought we drove up here to stargaze.”_

_“Oh, but I’m looking at the brightest star.”_

_“Yah!”-Mina lightly slapped Chaeyoung’s arm-“Stop it, or I’ll fall in love forever, Miss Son.”_

_Chaeyoung smirked and propped herself on her elbow so she could look at Mina’s face better. “That’s the plan, Miss Myoui.”_

_Mina’s lips were the softest._

_//_

_“I just wished I was good enough for them! Nothing I do is good enough! Nothing! I’m useless to this goddamn family, I honestly do not know how they haven’t_ _disinherited me.”_

“Chaeyoung, calm down, it’s like that, you know th-” 

_“Don’t you tell me to calm down. You know how their poison works, and I want no part in that. I’m tired, Jeong-hoon.”_

“I know you are… I’m sorry, I really am. If you need anything, I’ll be here for you. Text me later, ok?” 

_“_ _Ok, thank you.” Chaeyoung sighed. “Talk to you later.”_

_She hung up the phone and ran her hands through her hair in frustration. Her brother was just trying to help but she exploded – her parents were the one thing that made her this mad._

_She was so caught up in her feelings she had completely forgotten Mina was in the next room, waiting for her to come back and watch Harry Potter – again._

_“Chaengie? Everything ok?” Mina’s hands were soft on her arms. Chaeyoung knew how beautiful they looked, even with her eyes closed behind her own hands._

_The younger girl shook her head. She couldn’t speak. If she did, she’d for sure break down in tears._

_Her efforts were in vain. The second Mina enveloped her in a hug and kissed the top of her head, she cried like a baby. She was nowhere proud of it – she hated crying in front of people, showing vulnerability, but she trusted Mina. Mina would never hurt her or feel ashamed of her feelings, unlike those who she was actually supposed to trust._

_\--_

_The heat of the mug brought Chaeyoung back into reality. She was in Mina’s apartment. They started watching Harry Potter, the fourth one, if Chaeyoung wasn’t mistaken. Her parents sent a long and dry text message. She had failed them again. She wasn’t good enough. Her brother called. He knew about everything and tried to calm Chaeyoung down. She was such a bitch. She could never do anything right. Fuck, fuck, fuck._

_“Chaeyoung? How are you feeling?” Mina’s voice broke her out of her thoughts._

_“Um… I’m better. Calmer. I think.”_

_“Ok, that’s good...” It was obvious Mina wasn’t used to comforting people, but she was trying her best. “Do you want to talk about it?”_

_“Yeah… yeah, I think it’s time to tell you some stuff.” Chaeyoung got herself more comfortable in her seat and cleared her throat before starting, slowly but surely. Mina deserved the truth, and she was tired of keeping things to herself. “When I was about fourteen, my parents found my diary and decided to invade my privacy and read it. They found out I liked girls – at the time I didn’t label myself, but all I could think about was girls. So… they approached me and talked about it. It was more like scolding… for having feelings. Imagine a fourteen year old hearing that._

_Ever since then, they started controlling everything I watched, listened, which friends I could talk to, that kind of stuff. It was hell, to say the least. My brother was the only one I trusted and the only one who supported me. I truly don’t know what would’ve happened to me without him._

_They also started to impose these crazy standards for me, in a sick way of compensating for the fact that I wasn’t straight, I don’t know… I had to have the best grades, play every instrument beautifully, get into the best university, and all that jazz. Imagine how they reacted when I told them I didn’t want to go to college and instead make a YouTube channel to sing. It’d be funny if it wasn’t tragic._

_So, I did the most logical thing a teenager could do: I ran away from home. I mean, it wasn’t really running away because I was already of legal age, but still… I didn’t talk to them for a few months until my brother told me they wanted to apologize. It seemed like they had changed… They told me they thought about stuff and were willing to educate themselves about the LGBT+ community and everything. I thought that maybe things could change. It did get better, for sure, but they still demand so much from me. It’s so exhausting!_

_Well… Anyways. I told them about that record label that didn’t want to represent me, and they became furious. I thought, maybe, this time, they would be comprehensible and- and comfort me, encourage me! I was wrong... Shit happens, eh?”_

_Chaeyoung dealt with everything that had happened quite well. She was proud of how far she had come and how stable she was, given the circumstances. As time passed, she found it easier to talk about the situation, even enjoyed it, because she thought that, doing so, she could shed light and give hope to those who listened. She didn’t mind dumping all of that on Mina, she had done this before. What she didn’t expect was the Japanese girl to be on the brink of tears._

_“Chaeyoung… I’m- I’m so sorry about all of that. You didn’t deserve any of it, you’re such a good person and- and, oh my God I’m just in shock, I had no idea! I’m so, so sorry-”_

_Chaeyoung put a hand on the older girl’s knee to stop her rambling and reassure her._

_“Don’t worry, Mina-ya. I’m strong. I have amazing people around me. I have you. And I still have myself. I’ll be fine. I’m fine.”_

_Mina smiled and nodded, a single tear escaping her eyes._

_Chaeyoung fell more and more in love with her._

_//_

_Their dates on the café, for more frequent they were, were special moments they’d cherish forever._

_It was the fourth time they met in the cozy little place, surrounded by the smell of fresh coffee and old vinyl records, and it was already becoming a tradition of theirs._

_They would usually be extra excited and stupidly giddy in their sacred rendez-vous but this one time, Mina looked clearly disturbed and unhappy. Chaeyoung presumed it was just after-work stress – Mina did work in her father’s company with no personal will – but it was getting unbearable seeing the girl that down._

_“_ _Mina, is everything ok? You seem… out of it, I don’t know.”_

_The Japanese girl’s expression became softer and she placed her hand over Chaeyoung’s on the table._

_“Thank you for asking, Chaengie. But no, I’m… not ok. I had a panic attack at work today and it was the third one I had this month.”_

_“Mina…” Chaeyoung was visibly worried._

_“I know, Chaeng. I thought I would get better after the first one, but it seems like it’s coming back… It had been a while since I had one, since I... since I stopped dancing, so it’s a little weird.”_

_“I can imagine.” She squeezed Mina’s hand a little tighter. “If there’s anything I can do to help, I’m here, you know that. And also seven other amazing girls by your side. It’s all gonna be ok, just take care of yourself, pretty please?”_

_Chaeyoung’s cute worried words made her chuckle – which made the Korean girl a little more relieved._

_“Ok, Chaeyoung, I’ll take care of myself, don’t worry. And thank you, I appreciate it, you know, you… and the girls, you’re too good to me.”_

_“It’s what you deserve, Minari!” Chaeyoung grabbed Mina’s hand and brought it to her mouth, kissing it gently._

_//_

_“Mina.” Chaeyoung whispered, she didn’t want to scare her, only wake her up. “Mina-ya.” A light push to the girl’s shoulder._

_Mina only responded with a grumble and a few incomprehensible mumbled words._

_“Baby, please, wake up! I made us breakfast.” Another grumble. “And… I have a surprise for you.” That caught the older girl’s attention._

_Mina finally opened her eyes and turned her face to Chaeyoung._

_“What surprise?” Mina’s voice was hoarse from sleep. Chaeyoung thought it was the cutest thing in the world in that moment._

_“Well, silly, it’s a surprise, isn’t it? You’ll have to get out of bed to find out.”_

_The Japanese girl groaned in frustration and buried her face back onto the pillow but eventually got out of bed. Chaeyoung chuckled in amusement because of the girl’s cuteness._

_“There better be French toast.” Mina pointed a demanding finger towards the Korean girl on her way to the bathroom._

_“Only one way to find out!”_

_Chaeyoung was usually the one that slept in and was grumpy for waking up, but today was a special day._

_\--_

_Chaeyoung finished the last few strokes on the guitar and nervously looked at Mina, waiting for her reaction._

_“Chaengie, baby… It’s beautiful. I love it so much, I'm speechless.”_

_“It’s only this good because I wrote it thinking about you.” Chaeyoung winked after her cheesy line._

_“Oh God, I can’t get enough of you.”_

_Mina got up from the couch and was quickly in front of Chaeyoung, who was sitting on a chair in the middle of the living room. They shared the most heartfelt kissed Chaeyoung swore they ever had. The adoration towards each other was clear._

_“Mina…” Chaeyoung broke the passionate kiss and took the other’s hands into hers. “I know we’ve been like together for over a month now, but I still wanted to make this old fashioned and cute, so… Mina, will you be my girlfriend?”_

_Mina chuckled and looked down. She was as nervous and excited as the younger girl was._

_They both knew the answer, the question was a mere formality._

_“Of course, Chaeyoungie. You know I’m yours. Always have been.”_

_They couldn’t stop smiling._

_Oh, to be young and in love._ _  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope this explains some stuff.. already written and to be. 
> 
> also hope it's not too bad hehe


	4. group therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> things happen! stuff goes down! oh no feelings are felt!

_God fucking damn it_.

Chaeyoung hated thinking about Mina, let alone dream about her - especially dreams of their memories. They only meant that there was a chance CHaeyoung wasn't over her. She was, for a while. But it seemed like those feelings came back alive after a couple years, which was too strange for the short girl. They were very platonic friends for over two years, they were both over each other, they both knew being friends was the best; but for some damned reason, Chaeyoung began thinking about her in _that_ way again.

"You ok, Chaengie?"

Ah, yes. Jeongyeon was still there. Tzuyu had also fallen asleep while watching the movie - it was their third Ghibli movie of the night. Chaeyoung regrets not paying that much attention, causing her to take a nap (and dream about _her_ ).

"Yeah... just had a weird dream."

Jeongyeon nodded in acknowledgement. "Wanna tuck in the giant"-the older girl pointed at Tzuyu with her thumb-"and call it a night?"

Chaeyoung felt hazy. Maybe it was the room being only illuminated only by the bright television, or the way she quickly whipped her head; she couldn't tell. All she wanted to do was close her eyes again and try not to dream about Mina.

"Sounds good to me."

\--

"Please Dahyunnie! Pretty please!" the way Sana dragged the last word was endearing.

"Yeah, Dubu, sleep over here! It's already late and- and Tzuyu is still at Chaeyoung's, you'll be all alone!"

Momo's point was compelling. But Sana's cute little pout was what almost made her change her mind.

Mina laughed at the girls excessively begging. "I'll sleep over here too, if it makes you feel better."

"Yes! See, Dahyun. It's a sleepover now. It'll be rude to leave." Sana's eyes sparkled.

Dahyun gave in. "Ok, ok. I'll stay."

Sana immediately hugged the younger girl and whispered way too many "thank yous" in her ear. Dahyun was too shocked to react and, before she knew, the contact was over.

She noticed the way Mina looked at Momo, the quick visual contact and how fast they looked away before the younger Japanse girl spoke: "I'll take the couch."

"Ok, but... there's only one couch. Where will I stay?"

Sana broke out the biggest smile and Momo rolled her eyes knowing what was to come.

"Well, Dahyunnie, you'll sleep with me."

"Oh."

\--

"Is this ok?"

Sana was more attentive than Dahyun thought. Everytime she moved not even an inch she asked Dahyun if she was comfortable or fine. She thought Sana would've been more... careless.

"Sana, for the millionth time, yes, it's fine. Let's just sleep." Dahyun was harsher than she intended. Sana looked deflated.

"Ok... sorry."

Oh well.

"Sorry for lashing out, Sana-ya. It's just... you don't have to worry about me, ok?"

"If you say so, Dubu." Sana's face suddenly changed into a small smirk, a fresh idea washing over her expression. "So... is it ok if I do this, for example?"

Sana threw her amrs and legs over Dahyun's body, enveloping the younger girl into the warmest cuddle. The younger girl quickly blushed over the sudden display of affection. Nonetheless, it _was_ ok for Dahyun - more than ok.

"Um... yeah, I- I'm ok with it", the flushed girl said after clearing her throat, "if- if you're ok with it."

"In fact, I am." Sana's bloody smirk only made Dahyun's skin feel hotter.

"Well, then... goodnight."

Sana gave a light laugh before speaking, this time more softly. "Goodnight, Tofu."

Dahyun felt the lightest of kisses on her right shoulder before feeling Sana's body drifting into slumber.

\--

Chaeyoung's phone was blasting the Mii Channel theme song. Someone was calling. Who in the fuck would be calling her on a sunday morning? She groaned before grabbing the device.

It was Dahyun. Chaeyoung immediatly picked it up, thinking that the only reason she's be calling at this time of day had to be an emergency.

"Hell-"

_"HOLY FUCKING SHIT CHAEYOUNG! OH MY GOD!"_

"What's going on, Dahyun?!"

_"I SLEPT WITH SANA!"_

"Wait what?!"

_"Oh, not in the sexual conotation, I just slept in the same bed as hers and we cuddled all night and I'm pretty fucking sure she kissed my shoulder."_

Dahyun would be the death of her.

Chaeyoung ran her free hand over her face in frustration and disappointment. Her best friend called at nine in the morning (Sundays only start at noon) to scream at her because she cuddled with Sana, her crush.

"For fuck's sake, Dahyun. I thought something bad had happened, or that you two hooked up, Jesus Christ... You scared the shit out of me!"

_"Well, it's a big deal for me. I even got hopeful..."_

Chaeyoung felt bad for her best friend. Dahyun had been pining for Sana since they had met, but was too embarrassed to do something about it. Every hug, kiss, or any touch was a big deal for Dahyun. Chaeyoung just wanted one of them to just _do_ something, it was getting unbearable. She'd have to intervene, one way or another. After breakfast.

"I know... Hey, it feels like progress, eh? Maybe it was a sign. You should talk to her, Dubu."

The girl on the other end of the line went quiet for a while. Chaeyoung knew she was probably freaking out with the thought of telling Sana how she felt.

_"Um... yeah, I'll think about it. I- I gotta go, talk to you later."_

"Ok... bye, Dubu."

A beep.

Chaeyoung felt defeated. She indeed had to intervene.

//

_I’m like kind of a little bit too drunk_

_but I've been meaning to ask you something  
_

**00:04 AM. READ.**

_good to know God Jihyo is a good writer even drunk!  
_

_what's up?_

**00:06 AM.  
**

_Will you go on a date with me?  
_

**00:07 AM. READ.  
**

_oh my god finally!  
_

_yes, it'll be my pleasure_

_this friday night?_

**00:08 AM.**

_It's a date.  
_

**00:08 AM. READ.**

//

"So you're finally going a date with her, huh?"

"Shut up, Yoo." Jihyo rolled her eyes but still kept the smile on her face. In one hand she held a hair dryer and in the other a brush and had to almost yell so Jeongyeon could hear her over the sound of the machine working her hair.

“Jeong's got a point, though. It took you too long to ask her out," Nayeon added. 

Jihyo tuned off the hair dryer, her hair finally done.

"I- I was intimidated by her, ok? I mean, it's _the_ Minatozaki Sana we're talking about."

"Well, she is hot and a womanizer, but still a person. And most importantly our friend."

Jeongyeon nodded strongly, agreeing with Nayeon. “Yeah, and I thought you two already had something going on? You guys are always glued together at parties and stuff.”

"I mean, we’ve always flirted and messed around, but I never had the courage to actually ask her out on a date."

"We get you, boo. Don't worry." Jeongyeon tried to relax her.

"Yeah. Oh, wasn't Sana and Dahyun being all cutesy and shit last week? Didn't they share a bed?"

"You are not helping, bunny," Yoo hissed.

"No, it's just that, I don't know, what if something is going on between them?"

" _Well_ , if they did in fact have 'something' going on, Sana wouldn't have accepted to going on a date with Jihyo."

Jihyo's big eyes alternated between her two friends. One oblivious to her feelings and the other to her presence.

"Ok, you guys. Enough. Nayeon"-she pointed her finger to the older one-"you made me paranoid and that's the last thing I need right now. Jeongyeon... thank you, I guess, you're right. Everthing's ok... right?"

Nayeon rolled her eyes. Jeongyeon knew how much she hated when she wasn't right.

"Everything is ok, Thomas."

"Yeah, Jeong is right. And I'm sorry."

Jihyo's smile came back. "I love you guys."

\--

Momo’s unstable voice came through the phone. _“Chaeyoungie? Is it ok if I come over?”_

Chaeyoung knew the drill. The Japanese girl was sad because of Nayeon and felt lonely. She also had mentioned something about Sana going on a date so she was probably alone in their apartment.

Chaeyoung sighed. She felt bad for Momo, but also felt like crap for not being able to help more than comfort and encourage the poor girl.

“Of course, Momo. You are always welcomed here, no need to call.”

Chaeyoung hung up the phone with a heavy heart. Why couldn’t things imply work out? With everyone, including herself? She was so tired of trying to fix things up, of listening to her friends crying, she just wanted peace around her. Most importantly, she wanted peace for herself, but she couldn’t when Mina existed – and her job, Jesus Christ, she was exhausted.

Momo’s tears dripped onto Chaeyoung’s shoulder, but her sobbing had finally reduced. The Korean girl played with her hair, calming her down.

“You know,” started Momo in between sniffles, raising her head from Chaeyoung’s neck. “I don’t usually cry like this when I’m alone, but it’s like when I’m with you I can finally let things out.”

Chaeyoung’s heart warmed up. It felt good being recognized from her efforts.

“I’m always here to listen to you, Momoring. No judgment.”

”Thank you, Chaengie.” Momo smilled and nuzzled her face back onto Chaeyoung.

“Feel good to talk, now?” The younger girl spoke after a moment of serenity, just enjoying the warm embrace.

“Yeah… yeah, I think so.” Momo slowly detached herself from Chaeyoung and quickly wiped her nose one last time. “It’s just the same as always. I flirt with her, she doesn’t really care, or thinks it’s cute; then _she_ flirts with me – mostly when she’s drunk – and I get hopeful, but immediately afterwards she shuts off and it’s like it never happened, but… I just feel like there’s more to it, you know? I don’t think she’s intentionally playing with my feelings or whatever, I think she has feelings but is scared. Or maybe I’m delusional and she for real doesn’t want anything from me.” She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I honestly don’t even know why I try anymore. It’s been so long and nothing happened, I think it’s time to just… give up.”

No. Momo couldn’t give up now. Chaeyoung went through so much with her, so many sleepless nights like these just holding each other and comforting her. She’d done so much for those two to be together. Damned Nayeon, couldn’t she be a little less obtuse? Maybe Chaeyoung was being selfish but at the same time couldn’t bear to see the two without each other, as anything less then a couple. Momo went through so much, and Chaeyoung was sure Nayeon was going through her own shit. _Shit_. She just wished Nayeon would knock at the door and claim Momo’s heart.

“Momo… I-“

_Knock, knock_.

Two certain thumps at Chaeyoung’s door. Did she think so loud her thoughts manifested themselves?

“Chaeyoung, it’s me…” Dahyun’s voice came from behind the door.

The breath the Korean girl was holding released and she got up from the couch to open the door. Before turning the knob, she looked at Momo as if asking if it was ok for Dahyun to invade their little moment. Momo nodded and smiled.

“Hey, Dubu-” Chaeyoung stopped in her tracks when she noticed Dahyun’s red and puffed face from crying. _Shit_. “Dahyunnie… what happened? Come in, come in…”

Momo noticed that the new visitor was also crying when she spotted her in the living room; she patted on the seat next to hers, inviting Dahyun.

“It’s… it’s about Sana.”

_“Oh shit”_ Chaeyoung thought, and the exchange between hers and Momo’s eyes told her that the older girl thought the same – or even more, since she lived with Sana and knew everything about the girl’s life. Chaeyoung couldn’t help but make a mental note on how funny Momo’s face of desperation and “deer caught in headlights” was.

“What happened?” Chaeyoung asked. Momo kept quiet, waiting for Dahyun to talk before saying anything.

“I- Mina invited me over to play videogames with her and Jeongyeon, I think it was something about her feeling lonely, I don’t know… It was fun. But then they talked about how Sana… how Sana and Jihyo went on a date and… I- I just feel sad and like a piece of shit because I was too slow and afraid of asking Sana out before. I missed my shot…”

The strength it took for Dahyun to speak about the matter was evident. A tear streamed down Dahyun’s face after she finished talking.

“Dahyunnie… Sana, she-” Momo started but stopped, shutting her mouth closed before finishing what she was going to say.

An awkward silence fell in the room, but Chaeyoung was the best at breaking silences. She put a hand on Dahyun’s shoulder before speaking.

“Dubu, I know the situation is shitty and that you feel shitty, but I honestly think you should wait a bit, see what happens between Sana and Jihyo, you know? In the meantime, you can cry all you want that Momo and I are here for you, just like everyone else.”

Dahyun broke a smile and nodded.

“Yeah, Dubu. Your feelings are completely valid, I know how it is to see someone you love slip away because you missed the timing. We love and support you, never forget that.”

“Thanks, guys.”

They all hugged. For a moment, Chaeyoung thought everything was ok – maybe she wanted really hard for it to be true. Nonetheless, she enjoyed the little moment they shared and the warmth in her heart.

“Well, since we have the same problems, why don’t we set up a little group therapy?” Momo joked after they broke off the hug.

“Actually… that sounds good. The three of us sharing what breaks our heart.” Dahyun said.

“Let’s do it, then. I’ll make a group chat.” Chaeyoung was already reaching her phone.

Life could be falling apart around them, but they had each other and they knew everything was going to be ok. 


	5. fishy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> something feels......... weird.

“Do you think Dahyun is ok?”

“I don’t know, Jeong… It seems like she’s pretty whipped on Sana.” Nayeon said staring blankly at the ground.

Nayeon had gone to Mina’s place after Jeongyeon texted about her Dahyun reacted to the news of Sana and Jihyo – she basically bolted out of the apartment mumbling weird excuses, but they all knew the real reason.

“Guys, can we just please enjoy this opportunity to play videogames and watch some movies?” Mina’s annoyed voice broke through. “We never get to hang out like this anymore and… things have been so weird these past few weeks, I just want to have some fun.”

Jeongyeon and Nayeon’s expression grew softer – they had a feeling Mina was going through some shit as well, how could she not when they had the most dramatic friends ever? They made their way to join the younger girl on her bed and kissed her temples Nayeon grabbed the second console controller that had been forgotten by Jeongyeon.

“Sorry, Mina-yah, I’ll play… whatever this game is with you.”

“You? Nayeon the old hag playing Call of Duty with Mina, the professional gamer?”

“Shut up, Yoo! I’m gonna beat both of you in this… game.” Nayeon started pressing random buttons and cursed under her breath, having no idea how to function this type of technology.

Their laughs were the most beautiful sound to Nayeon’s ears.

//

“Dahyunieeee!” the two girls screamed.

_“Oh my God, will you two shut up?”_

“No, we will not!” Chaeyoung said smugly.

“Dubu, we’re the School Meal Club, that means that we must be there for each other.”

“And annoy each other, don’t forget.”

Dahyun groaned on the other side of the phone call. She had been absent from social media and barely texted the girls back. The news that Jihyo and Sana were sailing took a big toll on her and her high school – and life – best friends were worried, to say the least. In all honesty, Chaeyoung thought Dahyun was dealing with everything way better than she expected. The older girl would usually disappear and completely avoid her problems until she couldn’t anymore and would implode. This time, though, it seemed like she was actually dealing with everything. Tzuyu was still worried, blaming it on her gut – Chaeyoung thought she was just being paranoid, but whatever, it was good to let Dahyun know they were there for her. She just hoped it wasn’t too much.

_“I’m fine, you guys. It’s just whatever, you know? I just need some time for myself and just… forget about her, I guess.”_

Chaeyoung knew that the last part was nearly impossible, but she took her friend’s word for it and trusted that this time she would be ok.

Tzuyu gave her a side look, maybe she didn’t agree with her.

“Ok, Dahyun, whatever you need. We’re here if you need us, ok?” Chaeyoung spoke up.

_“Ok, thank you guys. Love you so much!”_ Dahyun made a kissing noise, which made Chaeyoung and Tzuyu fake a disgusted reaction. _“I’ll eat something and do whatever here, you guys take care. Bye!”_

“You too, Dubu. Bye!” Tzuyu said before hanging up the phone.

“See? She’s fine. I mean, not one hundred percent, but she seems better than the other night.”

“Yeah, I guess so. I just worry, you know?”

“Oh, and with reason! Dahyun and I have no idea on how to take care of ourselves.”

“You two _are_ pretty dumb, I don’t know where you guys would have been without me.”

“I bet we’d be dead.” Chaeyoung made a face, pretending to be dying and threw herself on the couch.

Tzuyu sat next to her lying body. Chaeyoung instinctively laid her head on the taller girl’s lap, receiving a scalp massage. 

After a calm moment of silence, Tzuyu spoke. “Chaeyoungie?” 

“Hmm?” The shorter girl’s eyes remained closed. 

“Do you think we are going to be ok?” 

The way Tzuyu phrased and said that sentence made Chaeyoung a little worried. She sat up and looked at her friend, a frown on her face – mostly because of Tzuyu’s sad expression. 

“What do you mean by that? Of course we’re going to be ok.” 

“It’s just that… nothing feels ok right now. Everyone is getting more and more distant, they all say they love each other but it doesn’t seem like it, you all have feelings for one another but you don’t do a single thing about, we barely talk anymore and- I just want my friends back, like before, the nine of us, inseparable. I’m worried we’ll end up fighting and never speak again.” 

“Tzuyu-ah!” Chaeyoung gave the younger girl a light push. “Of course we’re going to be ok!” 

“You say that all the time, but do you actually believe that?” 

Chaeyoung’s optimistic smile faltered, and a new worried and lost expression gained way onto her face.

“I- I don’t know, Tzuyu. But I can try to make things ok.”

“ _We_ can try.” Tzuyu put a hand on the shorter one’s shoulder. “You don’t have to caryy all the weight in the world.” 

Oh, but she did. If there was one thing she ever learned in life is that she had to make everything perfect, or else… She didn’t know what would happen, but she was sure it was something bad. 

// 

Jeongyeon was in the middle of editing some scenes from a new film project when Jihyo called and screamed something about her and Sana… and maybe a kiss? She couldn’t understand properly between the screams of joy, but either way, in a span of record breaking ten minutes, Jeongyeon was at Jihyo and Nayeon’s place. The white knight and everyone’s dream best friend who’d drop everything they1re doing just to talk to you. Jeongyeon felt dumb sometimes, but she couldn’t help it. 

“So, ok, that was our first date. _Then_ , the next day she texted me with a lot of sad faces complaining about Momo working all day and being all alone and-” 

“And then you obviously went there to keep her company, if you know what I mean.”

“Yes, who do you think I am, Nayeon? Of course I did, I’m not stupid.”

“Just stupidly in love!” Jeongyeon said.

“Yah!” Jihyo threw a cushion at the taller friend, but immediately looked down, embarassed. "Ok, maybe…”

“What a shocker!” Nayeon joked.

“Shut up, let me finish the story!”

Jeongyeon listened attentively to her friend gushing about Sana, how they cooked together, kissed a lot, cuddled and all that gay shit. She then went on to talk about how they continued to spend the next few days basically inseparable. Jeongyeon was happy for her friend, especially after the whole Daniel fiasco – they are not allowed to talk about that. Jihyo seemed really happy – the happiest –, but it seemed way too fast and like something was missing. Yes, the pair had been friends for years now and were constantly playing push and pull, but something felt wrong. Jeongyeon couldn’t put her finger on it, there were puzzle pieces missing, so she let it go at that moment. Maybe someone else could figure it out, she had more important things to tend to – don’t get her wrong, it’s just she had a load of work and being a freelancer didn’t help at all. Chaeyoung was constantly talking about love and playing Clue, so she was a better candidate for the task if Jihyo and Sana were too oblivious. 

Poor girl… Jeongyeo always felt bad for Chaeyoung. She was the one that did the most but never got the credit, always working in the shadows to keep her friends happy and feel loved. Jeongyeon saw her, but she couldn’t help her yet, she had to figure herself out first, and Nayeon and Jihyo were her priorities – a matter of loyalty, per se.

And she didn't want to think about Dahyun hurt and confused face that night at Mina's place.

//

“Oh, did Jihyo finally leave our apartment?” Joked Momo when she arrived home from work.

Sana giggled on her spot on the couch, hiding her face behind a cushion. “Unfortunately, she did,” she then said almost smugly, if she wasn’t giggly and embarrassed.

“Jesus Christ...” Momo rolled her eyes, pretending to be disgusted by the thought of Sana and Jihyo dating. 

“You’re always supportive of me dating! Why can’t you be this time?”

Oh, dang. Sana was legitimately hurt by Momo’s joke. Well, Momo had been teasing the younger girl about the new couple for the last few days so it made sense it all got to her.

“I- I was just joking, Sana-chan. I am happy for you.”

And she truly was. Although, the second the last words left her mouth, the image of Dahyun crying on Chaeyoung’s couch crossed her mind and she couldn’t get it out of her head. She wasn’t being fair, Sana and Jihyo were happy together, everyone saw it coming, but it just felt wrong seeing Dubu that sad and heart broken. Was this how Chaeyoung felt when she kept on crying because of Nayeon? Shit, she really needed to get her love life together.

Sana didn’t seem to believe Momo, but she just gave up, sighing loudly. “Yeah… it’s just- never mind. Wanna watch some stupid reality show? Just the two of us?”

Maybe Sana thought Momo was jealous of Jihyo stealing her time with her best friend – which she missed, yes, but wasn’t jealous. It was best for Sana to think so for the moment, she was still in the honeymoon phase with Jihyo and Momo didn’t want to ruin the moment by worrying them about Dahyun. 

She was sure either Chaeyoung or Tzuyu would anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bruh. ok. i'm sorry this is a mess. this is not good but i just HAVE to get this story out of my had, it's been haunting me. i'm sorry if it's so poorly written but idc, i just have to publish this for inner peace purposes. anyways. 
> 
> also, i know things are slow but OH TRUST ME shit will go down soon... i think.


	6. smushed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sana is 100% lost but only because she doesn't want to see
> 
> momo is still blinded by love
> 
> chaeyoung doesn't want to fall but it's almost innevitable 
> 
> tzuyu is tired of everyone's stuff

_ok guys_

_it’s been a while since we all hung out_

_you know all 9 of us_

_together_

_soooo_

_how about a chill get together_

_at someone’s place?_

**14:34. READ.**

**yoda <3**

_You mean your place?_

**14:36.**

**momoring**

_LOL_

**14:37.**

_why does it always have to_ _be at my place???_

**14:37. READ.**

_oh and i see you guys reading_

_my texts and not responding_

**14:39. READ.**

**dubuuuuu**

_needy much?_

**14:40.**

_fuck off_

**14:40. READ.**

**thomas**

_Language!_

**14:40.**

_i just need a freaking answer!!_

**14:41. READ.**

**no jam bro**

_ok, so this friday at 7._

_chaeng’s place._

_yay or nay?_

**14:42.**

_WHY AT MY PLACE??_

**14:42. READ.**

**dubuuuuu**

_yay_

**14:42.**

**thomas**

_yay_

**14:43.**

**yoda <3**

_Yay_

**14h:43.**

**shiba**

_yay_

**14:43.**

**momoring**

_yay_

**14:44.**

**Mina**

_Yay_

**14:44.**

**nabongs**

_yay_

**14:46.**

**no jam bro**

_yay_

**14:47.**

_NAY!!!_ _I SAY NAY!!!_

**14:48. READ.**

**no jam bro**

_majority wins my dude_

**14:48.**

_who said this was a democracy??_

**14:49. READ.**

**nabongs**

_the people._

**14:50.**

_i hate you guys._

**14:52. READ.**

**//**

_Dubu?_

**16:23. READ.**

_what’s up, Tzuyu?_

_sorry, I was busy!!_

**16:56.**

_It’s ok!_

_Can you talk now?_

**16:56. READ.**

_yes, shoot!_

**16:57.**

_Are you actually ok with Chaeng’s_

_“get together” thing on Friday?_

**16:57. READ.**

_yeah, of course_

_why do you ask?_

**16:58.**

_Because of Sana…_

_And Jihyo…_

**16:59. READ.**

_it’s fine, Tzuyu_

_don’t worry about me_

**17:02.**

_I’ll be home soon_

_we can talk properly then_

**17:05.**

_Ok, see you soon._

**17:06. READ.**

**//**

_Chaeyoung, did you even think_ _about Dahyun’s feelings?_

**17:01. READ.**

_of course I did, Tzuyu-ah!_

_she’s fine, she said a million times_

_that she’s chill about it_

**17:02.**

_Hm._

**17:03. READ.**

_don’t you “hm.” me_

**17:03.**

_It’s ok._

_We’ll just see how it goes_

_Friday night._

**17:05. READ.**

**//**

Tzuyu sometimes scared Chaeyoung. She loved her best friend, but she saw the dark sides of her and, well, it wasn’t pretty. What scared her the most, though, is that the younger girl was unpredictable: she was either very chill about things, calm and peaceful or she went full on beast mode, paranoid, detective mind vibes, an overwhelming eager and anger, etc. Chaeyoung was scared she’d be on beast mode with the whole Dahyun and Sana situation. 

The other thing was, Tzuyu was always right, and Chaeyoung was also scared she was right about the whole thing. That would mean that Dahyun was indeed too sad and too heart broken to deal with everything and Chaeyoung was a terrible friend. 

_Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit-_

_Ping._

Chaeyoung checked the message notification. 

Mina. Myoui Bloody Mina texted her at the worst time possible. Or maybe the best, Chaeyoung didn’t know. There was only one way to find out. 

_Hey, Chaeyoung!_

_Do you want me to bring some snacks on Friday?_

**17:08.**

Chaeyoung couldn’t help but smile at the message. Mina was still as eager and worked up on things way too early. Anxiety wasn’t cute, but Chaeyoung thought it was endearing the way Mina cared. 

_hey Mina!_

_idk actually lol_

_i’ll let you know before hand, ok?_

**17:09. READ.**

_Ok, thanks, Chaeyoung!_

_Just wanted to know so I can make some_ _time to go to the groceries store_

**17:10.**

_oh i see_

_but worry not, i’ll let you know if i need anything_

**17:12. READ.**

_Thank you!!_

_:))_

**17:12.**

Chaeyoung stared at the screen with almost visible heart eyes. God, she needed to get a grip. Falling in love with her all over again was not on her plans. It could not be in her plans. 

// 

Friday evening came around, Momo got home way too excited to spend some time with her friends, it had been a couple weeks since they all had a “chill hang out sesh”, as Chaeyoung would name it. 

“Sana?” Momo called when she closed the apartment door. 

With no answers, the older girl frowned as she took off her shoes and then ventured inside the place looking for her roommate. She found the girl in her bedroom – in which she was sure she could hear her calling from the living room. 

“Sana, why didn’t you answer? You know I get worried and-” 

Momo stopped on her tracks when she took a better look at the girl whose back were facing the door. Sana was sitting with a straight posture staring at the mirror on the wall, her hands on her laps, the fingers working on peeling the side of her nails, her legs shaking visibly. Sana was anxious. Probably about the reunion at Chaeyoung’s place. 

“I’m sorry.” Sana said quietly. 

Momo slowly approached the bed and sat at the younger girl’s side. After she was sure it was ok, she grabbed Sana’s hands into hers, stopping her from hurting herself. 

“Want to talk about it?” Momo cooed. 

It was a complex thing to get Sana to talk about dark feelings, she was one of the only ones that had mastered that art. It always seemed like Mina was born with such ability, though, from how easy Sana opened up with the younger girl – it took only a simple look. Momo’s thoughts were getting out of track. 

Sana closed her eyes and nodded. For a moment, Momo thought she would cry. 

“I’m… confused, I guess. I really want to go to Chaengie’s place, I love hanging out with you guys, but something feels off. Ever since I started, quote unquote, _dating_ Jihyo things shifted between everyone. We barely text random shit on the group chat, I haven’t talked to School Meal Club or Jeongyeon in so long… It’s just so weird. I’m nervous about seeing everyone, I feel like I did something wrong.” 

Momo gulped. “Why do you feel that way, do you think?” 

“I- I truly don’t know. The thought of seeing Jihyo, and Mina and everyone else is exciting, but then Dahyun… I-” Sana buried her face into her palms, too confused to function properly. 

The older one rubbed a hand on her back, calming her down. She knew what Sana felt, even when the girl didn’t even know exactly what the feeling was. Sana wanted Dahyun it was crystal clear for everyone except for them. 

“I know how you’re feeling, Sana-chan. Dahyun has been a little distant lately, but that’s not your fault, you shouldn’t worry about that.” 

“But what if it is? What if somehow I ruined everything?” 

“Ruined what, exactly?” The exchange of words was getting a little heated, but it didn’t come from a place of anger, simply urgency, Momo could see it in her eyes. Sana kept quiet, her big scared eyes staring at the older girl. “Look, if you feel like you should apologize or make it up for her or whatever, this is your chance. Honestly, if you feel like the fact of you and Jihyo getting together is somehow hurting Dahyun, you should really give it more thought.” 

Once more, Sana didn’t answer about the situation. Just nodded, her body deflating. “I’ll start changing, then. I might meet up eith Jihyo and go there with her.” 

Momo got up and sighed. “Ok, Shiba. I love you.”

She kissed the top of Sana’s head before leaving the room, not missing how the girl closed her eyes and her lips trembled a bit. 

// 

Yes, maybe Chaeyoung did go to the nearest twenty-four hour store to buy snacks and drinks because maybe she forgot about it, too distracted with work. 

She was about to take the remaining of her mental list, two bags of vinegar and salt chips before a sudden thought crossed her mind. Mina.

The Japanese girl loved feeling useful. She was the quiet one of the group and didn’t like speaking up – only when extremely necessary – so a lot of times the rest of the group had to speak up for her and make her feel needed. Which she was, it was just that she was terribly bad at being proactive; that’s what the lack of confidence does to one. 

_hey, mina_

_about those snacks…_

_would you mind bringing a couple bags_

_of chips?_

_any flavor you want :))_

**18:39. READ.**

_Yes, for sure!_

**18:40.**

_sorry about the timing!!_

_don’t want to be a bother_

**18:40. READ.**

_No worries!_

_Just don’t be mad if I arrive late hahah_

**18:41.**

Oh, to do anything to lift Mina’s self-esteem. 

// 

**jihyo (big eyes)**

_Hey, sorry guys_

_I know we’ve talked about_ _we all going_

_in the same car_

_But something just came up here, I’ll_

_just go straight to Chaeyoung’s!_

**1** **8:41.**

**nayeon (big teeth)**

_ook_

**18:42.**

_just let us know if you_

_need anything!_

**18:41. SENT.**

“How much you bet that ‘something came up’ means ‘Sana’?” 

Jeongyeon rolled her eyes but still chuckled. “Well, guess we’ll have to get there early to see if they came together.” 

“Oh, I’m sure they came.” 

“Im Nayeon, that is disgusting, leave my house immediately.” 

// 

“Guys, I’m glad it’s just the three of us now.” Chaeyoung gathered Dahyun and Momo into a small circle. “So I’ve been thinking of adding Tzuyu on the Group Therapy group, she basically know everything going on anyways.” 

“She is kind of psychic,” commented Momo. 

“More like psycho!” Dahyun joked. 

“Anyway… I know Dahyun is ok with it, I just wanted to know if you are too, Momo.” 

“I think I’m ok with it. But does this mean exactly?”

“That she’ll be 100% aware of what you share on the group chat and she’ll be another shoulder to cry on. I know there’s the rest of the girls but I think that this is a little group where we can be like really raw and true.”

“Ok, I’m in. Tzuyu will be a great addition to our little pack.”

“Oh my God, you guys talk as if this is a secret society, chill…”

“Shut up, Dubu,” joked Momo.

“Hey!”

“Just kidding, love you!”

“Yeah, you better!” 

Both of them started making kissing lips and noises and Chaeyoung was starting to get grossed out.

“Ok, please stop. No homo in this household.”

“Your apartment is the cause of homosexuality, Chaeyoung.”

“I know, Dahyun.”

//

“So it’s basically a group chat in which we can cry about our crushes?”

“Or whatever is making you sad, yes,” added Chaeyoung.

Chaeyoung had called another “meeting” in the kitchen when Tzuyu arrived. Which was good because it gave Momo an opportunity to eat the snacks and treat herself some soda.

“Why do you make it sound like some sort of cult?” 

“That’s exactly what I said, Yoda! She’s so dramatic about it!”

“Ok, whatever. Just- do you want to join the group?”

“I don’t think I’ll be talking about crushes since I already have a girlfriend,”-Tzuyu pointed to Elkie whom was sitting in the living room waiting for the group-“but yeah, sure, I think it will be good to have a safe place to vent.”

“Yay!” Momo said with a mouth full of something that seemed like cake.

“Welcome to the cult, we’ll just need a drop of your blood and a signature on the contract.”

“Ok, Dubu, enough with the cult thing.”

“You started by talking about it all suspiciously and shit!”

The doorbell rang, saving Dahyun from a comeback.

“Will you get that for me, Momoring?”

“Aah! But I wanted to see you guys fight!” Momo complained, eating some popcorn.

“Well, I have to organize the mess that is this kitchen. Pretty please?” Chaeyoung made puppy eyes, knowing Momo couldn’t resist it.

“Ok…” Momo sighed and went for the door.

She turned the knob and- oh. It was Mina.

“Oh, hey, Momo.” The younger girl’s face flattened in an awkward way, shifting her body in slight discomfort. 

“Hi, Mina,” said Momo dryly.

They both stood like that for a few seconds before Chaeyoung yelled, pulling them out of their torpor.

“Who is it, Momoring?”

“Oh, uh- it’s Mina!” Momo said loud enough for the Korean girl to hear. “Come in, Mina. Do you want me take those?” She pointed to the chip bags, speaking in monotone.

“Oh, no worries, I’ll take them to the kitchen.”

“Ok.” Momo scratched her back. She hated how awkward everything was.

Both Japanese girls walked to the kitchen. Momo, in the end, grabbed the bags of chips and poured them onto glass bowls – she just wanted to make herself useful while the girls talked. 

“Thank you, Momo, for getting the door. And thank you, Mina for getting the chips.”

“No sweat! I picked a salt and vinegar one and a salsa and onion one, is that ok?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s great! Thank you, I completely forgot to go and buy some, so you’re a life saver, honestly!”

“Don’t worry, Chaeyoung, it’s my pleasure.”

Momo looked behind her to see their faces. Both of them smiling and staring at each other’s eyes in the most “heart eyes” and loving way. She shook her head before going back to tiding up the potato chips, they were so dumb and so clearly still in love. She would call Chaeyoung out on it so something would happen, but then she’d be an hypocrite. Either way, some things are better left unsaid.

“Hey, guys! Jeongyeon and Nayeon are here!” Elkie announced from the living room before joining Tzuyu on the couch.

“Fashionably late, cool, cool, cool.” Chaeyoung said, leaving Mina and Momo alone in the kitchen, which caused another awkward interaction. Did Chaeyoung do that on purpose?

“Um, I guess we should greet them, right?” Momo tried to break the ice, playing with the hem of her shirt.

“Yeah, I still have to get Jeongyeon back for losing the game.” Mina tried to joke, but Momo didn’t understand the reference.

“Huh? What- what game?”

“Oh, it’s just we were playing some Mario Kart the other week and, well you know I’m pretty good at it, but Jeongyeon surprisingly beat me and I, you know, joked about threatening her, so I’m just going to go and tease her. Or, I mean, get teased, I don’t know.”

Jesus Fucking Christ, it was awkward. It pained Momo having to listen to Mina stumble on her words and still try to be somewhat funny. The older one squinted her eyes which didn’t help on Mina’s end, but either way, she just wanted to leave the kitchen and end the interaction without any more discomfort. She begged for someone to save her.

“Oh, so here is the loser!” Jeongyeon appeared in the kitchen and put an arm around Mina’s shoulders. Momo thanked the Universe.

“See? I’m the one getting teased.” the younger girl rolled her eyes. 

Momo gave them that awkward smile you give to passing strangers on the street and left the kitchen. She spotted Dahyun and Chaeyoung in the living room and headed straight to them. Once she got there, though, she noticed Nayeon sitting in front of them. 

_Oh fuck_. 

“Hey, Moguri! How are you? It’s been too long,” greeted Nayeon with the prettiest smile Momo had ever seen. 

“It’s only been, like, a couple weeks, right?” 

“I actually don’t remember,” commented Dahyun, trying to think the last time the older girls hung out. 

“Me neither. But I missed you, Momoring, come here!” Nayeon opened her arms, asking for a hug. 

Momo didn’t even think about it, she just found herself in between her arms being smuched by the warmth coming from there. From her peripheral view, she could see Chaeyoung giving her a side look and arching her eyebrows. Usually Momo was good at deciphering looks, but the touch of Nayeon was intoxicating and she couldn’t think straight. She still felt being judged by Chaeyoung's eyes. 

Thank goodness the Universe saved her from shame yet again with the sound of the doorbell, making Chaeyoung go and fetch the last two guests. 

Momo had kind of forgotten about them – or more of, she forgot about all the implications that came with the two of them arriving together. She remembered because of the way Dahyun looked away almost immediately when she identified the faces. 

Sana made eye contact with Momo before looking down. Momo’s gaze accompanied hers from afar, falling directly on her hand – Sana’s hand interlaced with Jihyo. 

It was going to be a long night.


	7. ouch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> things go down at chaeyoung's party!! wooooo
> 
> but then even crazier stuff happens WOOOOOOO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi it's 2 a.m i don't have wifi, i'm routing my phone's data, i'm dedicated. enjoy this mess

Chaeyoung just wanted a normal and chill night. Her friends were trying, they really were, but the weird tension was still obvious and, well, uncomfortable. 

She was watching everything from afar, a little behind Tzuyu and Elkie, whom were glued to each other on the couch and would sometimes joke and comment with her. Chaeyoung was she was Tzuyu’s best friend, always including her; and she adored Elkie as well. They were the cutest couple. 

Nayeon and Sana started screaming, as usual. Chaeyoung wasn’t really sure why, but Elkie looked at them and then at her, confused. 

“See, Chaeyoung? That’s why I don’t bring Elkie to hang out with us,” joked Tzuyu. 

“I mean, I see it now. If I were you, Elkie, I’d run away as far as possible.” Chaeyoung said leaning closer to the couple. 

Elkie laughed and pushed Tzuyu lightly. 

“Yah! I love your friends, they are fun. They are just very loud sometimes and I’m not used to that. You know, dating Tzuyu is mostly comfortable silence.” 

“Not in the sheets.” Tzuyu took a sip of her drink to hide the embarrassment after the smug comment. 

“Ew, Tzuyu-ah!” Chaeyoung said, covering her ears. 

“I mean…” Elkie also took a sip of her drink and winked at Tzuyu. 

“Ok, I’m leaving.” 

Chaeyoung left her spot with a smile on her face and with quiet laughs from the couple. She went to the kitchen to avoid the loud mess that was going on in the living room. Mina apparently had the same idea and followed her. 

“Avoiding the noise too, huh?” Mina said with a smile, leaning on the doorframe. 

“Ah, yes. I still don’t know why I’m still friends with those cuckoos.” The younger girl broke a side smile while pouring the weird tasting – but oddly good – punch Nayeon had brought. 

Mina chuckled and sat at the table, facing Chaeyoung, the younger girl was quietly sipping on her punch and eyed Mina’s actions from behind the cup. Feeling the tension change, mostly from the Japanese girl’s body language, Chaeyoung also sat down and waited for whatever was coming. 

Mina probably noticed how the Korean girl’s eyes widened the slightly. 

“Oh, don’t worry! I just wanted to ask if everything was ok. I noticed how quiet you and left out you were.” 

Chaeyoung melted. Mina had noticed her, had worried about her. But what did it mean? 

“I’m fine, don’t worry. It’s just a lot going on between everyone. I bet you’ve noticed it too.” 

“Of course I did, those fools are terrible at hiding their feelings.” 

They both laughed. 

“Yeah… I didn’t want to stress anymore so I just stood in a corner.”

“I feel you. And I’ve always liked that about you, how you can be quiet in the right times and speak up when needed. It was great dating a quiet person like me too, but that at the same time pushed me to be louder. And it’s great to now have that as friends, you know?”

_Ouch._

Chaeyoung was very much aware of their good friends status, which was fine until it wasn’t. And in that moment, hearing Mina’s words, it wasn’t fine. It hurt. She didn’t want to admit it was because _maybe_ she was developing feelings for the older girl again, in her lies it was because she touched a not so closed wound. 

Her head fell and nodded a little as she chuckled ironically. When she looked up again, to Mina, she tried to sound as normal as possible and tried to not show how hurt she was. It ended up with a poker face and a neutral tone. 

“Yeah. The feeling is mutual.” Chaeyoung tried to smile properly, but it was hard to make it not awkward and weird when her heart ached inside her chest. “Well, um… I’ll go back there and make sure those weirdoes don’t break anything.” She said before going back to the group of friends in the other room. 

She pretended she didn’t see the way Mina’s eyebrows furrowed. 

// 

Nayeon, Sana and Jihyo finally stopped singing/screaming. It stopped because the new couple shared a quick kiss and Tzuyu cleared her throat. Jeongyeon immediately remembered Dahyun and, upon a glance, she noticed that the younger girl made an uncomfortable face but didn’t seem too hurt. Maybe things were not as bad as Jeongyeon had thought. Still, the room fell in an awkward silence that was soon broke by the arrival of Chaeyoung with more snacks. 

Nayeon plopped down next to Jeongyeon and groaned quietly, indicating she was frustrated about something and wanted to talk about it. Jeongyeon took the bait. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Did you notice the way Momo looked at me while I sang ‘LOVE IS OUCH'?”

“Um, no…?”

“Exactly. She barely looked at me.” Nayeon huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

Jeongyeon sighed and rolled her eyes.

“You know what I’m about to say, right?”

“That I should talk to her and stop playing games,” mumbled the older girl. 

“Exactly. If you know what you have to do, then why don’t you do it?”

“Because… it’s scary.” Nayeon’s voice was small. “You know how hard it is for me, Jeong.”

Yes, she knew it was hard for Nayeon. Her whole childhood was her parents telling her to “shut up” and “stop being so needy” so she never had the chance to develop the ability of expressing her feelings – but became incredibly good at acting. 

“I know, I know.” Jeongyeon lightly scratched Nayeon's arm – she reserved her demonstrations of affection for needed moments. “Just think about her too. She’s probably as confused as you are about her feelings. Be careful not to hurt her too.”

Jeongyeon knew her words affected her by the face she made. They both kept quiet for a while, until their little bubble was popped by the sound of Sana’s screams and loud music. Dahyun was doing a funny dance, as expected. 

“Jesus Christ, someone cut this kid’s sugar intake!” Jeongyeon joked when she saw how energetic the younger girl was.

Nayeon laughed loudly by her side, bringing her this overwhelming feeling of joy. The rest of the girls pretended they didn’t hear Jeongyeon and Dahyun flipped her off in between dance moves, which caused everyone to giggle and chant her name to the beat.

Jeongyeon could never get tired of these fools, as dramatic as they were.

// 

Dahyun finished her eagle dance and got embarrassed, immediately throwing herself onto Momo’s lap and hiding her face on her neck. It was tickly and made the Japanese girl giggle. She loved when Dahyun took her shows of affection, even more when it was the younger girl herself that initiated them. 

The girls were still laughing at Dahyun, whom was still hiding herself and melting into Momo, so she held the girl a little tighter, pulling her in.

“Yah! That’s enough bullying guys!”

“Aw, protective Momo is so cute!” Jihyo said.

“She sure is,” added Nayeon with a small smirk. 

Momo suddenly felt hot and lost grasp of reality for a split moment. Nayeon was actively flirting with her in person and she wasn’t intoxicated.

Dahyun looked up and pinched Momo’s cheeks, bringing her back to her body.

“Ouch! Dahyunnie!”

The younger girl chuckled and kissed her cheek as an apology.

“Ok, guys. Who stopped the music? I feel like dancing again,” announced Nayeon with a clap of hands, getting up from her spot. 

Elkie was in charge of the playlist because, according to Tzuyu and Chaeyoung, she was the only one with a reliable and acceptable music taste, which wasn’t a lie. The Chinese girl hit play on an upbeat song and Nayeon started dancing. Jeongyeon, Tzuyu and Jihyo joining in soon after. 

Somehow, Nayeon was able to get drunk without even drinking. It was like some sort of button turned on inside her brain during social events and she would get wild, as wild as she was when she drank. It was her talent, putting on this party persona that wasn’t exactly a persona, just an even more hyper version of herself. Dahyun pulled that off as well, but not in the same intensity as the older girl.

Momo was always impressed by that, it was one of the many things she noticed while observing Nayeon – some people would call it staring or being creepy, but she couldn’t help it, it was too hard to not look at her. Especially with those unnecessarily sexy dance moves. Momo was also pretty sure she was staring at her throughout the dance. 

Again, Momo felt hot, and nothing else around her mattered but Nayeon. 

She hated feeling like this, like Nayeon was the sole reason for her breathing, and oh lord how heavily she was breathing. 

The song finished and the girls were playing around and laughing, but Momo still didn’t tear her eyes away from Nayeon. She only noticed that Dahyun had left her side minutes later, time seemed to slow down and her mouth was watering. It took a couple of seconds until she shook herself out of her daze.

“Another one, DJ!” Jihyo yelled.

“Jesus Christ, are you guys on cocaine?” Jeongyeon spoke in between deep breaths, still hyperventilating from all the dancing. 

“Just high on life, darling,” said Nayeon dramatically, whipping her hair to the side and winking. Jeongyeon whispered something to her, but the older girl ignored her, the next song already starting.

For some reason, Elkie liked Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty to Me”, or Nayeon bribed her, Momo wouldn’t doubt it if they said it was true. 

What Momo wouldn’t believe is if they told her Im Nayeon would give her a lap dance. Never in a million years, not with the Korean girl sober. 

And yet, there they were. Nayeon’s legs straddling Momo’s and her hips swaying to the beat. Her friends’ screams and whistles were muffled to her ears, all she could hear clearly were Nayeon’s breathing, so close to her, her mouth alternating between a smirk and a concentrating lip bite.

Momo was in heaven.

\--

The girls were starting to calm down and they stopped dancing. Dahyun kept talking about this funny video on the internet so they decided to watch it on the TV, which led to everyone else recommending another video and so on. 

Momo couldn’t stop laughing, and Dahyun complained every time, claiming that she couldn’t hear anything. 

After a video ended and they were fighting about who would choose the next one and complaining about the lack of popcorn – eliciting a whine from Chaeyoung.

In the midst of all the shouting, Nayeon got up announcing she was going to the restroom. She made eye contact with Momo before leaving, giving her a Look™. Momo noticed that Chaeyoung also noticed, and the latter arched her eyebrows. They held a little conversation through glances and facial expressions.

_Momo: did you see what I saw?_

_Chaeyoung: yes I did. Follow her._

_Momo: but I don’t know what it meant._

_Chaeyoung: of course you know._

_Momo: but how do I know if I know?_

_Chaeyoung: just follow her goddammit!_

_Momo: ok…_

_Chaeyoung: ooh, Momo’s getting laid!_

_Momo: shut up!_

_Dahyun: what’s going on?_

_Chaeyoung: Nayeon. And Momo. In the restroom._

_Dahyun: Finally!_

_Momo: oh my God… I’m leaving._

_Chaeyoung and Dahyun: go get her!_

Momo slowly got up from her seat, mumbling about getting some water. She received a slap on her butt from Dahyun before walking away. 

Her heart was pounding inside her chest and she had to take a few deep breaths to calm down. She reached the hall that lead to the bathroom and noticed how it’s door was slightly open. Maybe Chaeyoung was right and she wasn’t being delusional. 

Momo lightly knocked the door with her knuckles before speaking. “Nayeon?” Her voice cracked a little. 

“Momo? Come in.” 

If it was anyone else saying those words to her in that situation she would laugh and think it’s weird – maybe not Sana, but still. She slowly opened the door to process the images inside of the room. Nayeon was leaning her back against the wall opposite to the door, her lips partly opened, her hair messier than Momo remembered and her shirt a revealing more of skin, but that could’ve just been an illusion, Momo’s mind going on overdrive seeing Nayeon’s eyes getting darker with hunger and expectation. 

“Hey.” the younger girl’s voice was small. 

“Took you long enough. Close the door.” Nayeon’s smirk was addicting. 

Momo did as told and slowly stepped closer to Nayeon, but not too close she still wasn’t sure. The older girl merely chuckled, not saying anything, but her eyes were still full of desire and something that looked like love. 

“What are you laughing at?” Momo asked, her voice still hoarse but with a little more confidence, a smile playing on her lips. 

“Nothing. You’re just cute when you’re shy like this.” 

Momo blushed immediately, making Nayeon giggle and pull the younger girl closer. The Japanese was only now realizing that maybe, yes, the other girl wanted her and that they were probably going to kiss. Chaeyoung was right this whole time. Which meant that Momo’s dreams were about to become true, and that gave her a little bit more confidence than before. 

“Well, then you must think I’m really cute, because I’m always shy around you.”

“Yes, I do think so.” Nayeon brushed a strand of Momo’s hair behind her ear. “But now I also want to make your lips even redder. So… shush.”

“Make me.” 

They both smirked before closing the distance between them. The kiss started roughly because of all the built up tension in the last few hours – or years if Momo was being honest. Hands were travelling from their heads to their waist and even the walls.

After the feeling of need passed a little, the kiss became slower, more delicate, more attentive to every sensation. With more feelings, Momo would dare say. It was everything the Japanese girl wanted and expected from Nayeon: intense but full of love. 

Nayeon broke the kiss after biting Momo’s bottom lip.

“Nayeon…” the younger girl said with her eyes still closed.

“Momo, I-”´ There was a certain urgency in Nayeon’s voice, Momo couldn’t tell if it was a good or a bad thing.

They both got interrupted by a loud Dahyun basically punching the door.

“Are you two love birds done? I need to pee!”

Momo finally opened her eyes and laughed seeing Nayeon rolling her eyes. They pulled their bodies away awkwardly – the younger girl blamed on the sudden interruption.

“Yah! Kim Dahyun!” 

Momo saw Nayeon’s mask slipping back on as she yelled at Dahyun jokingly and fixed her hair on the mirror, without even looking at Momo. 

“All good?” Momo asked before turning the knob, not looking at the older girl either. 

“Yes.” Now Nayeon’s voice became small. All the confidence and smugness wearing off. Momo was worried. Mostly for herself and what all that had happened meant. 

//

Chaeyoung watched Nayeon and then Momo leave the bathroom. The older girl’s face was impossible to read, it was as if nothing had happened. But Momo’s… she wasn’t sure. She was either way too happy and shocked – hopefully they kissed – or she was heart broken and something bad had happened in the restroom. 

A story for another time. Now she had to feed her starving friends because, according to them, popcorn and potato chips wasn’t enough. Mina made a comment about how she could’ve brought more stuff if Chaeyoung had said the word. She though it was cute, but she was still hurt by her words from earlier. _Friends_. 

“Chaengie, I think that dough is already uniform enough.” 

Thank goodness she had Jihyo to help her in the kitchen. 

“Oh, yeah, right. I got lost in thought.” 

“I noticed, you silly. Hand me the mix, I’ll pour it into the mold.” 

“Thanks, Ji.” 

“No worries, Chaengie!” The older girl smiled brightly. 

“How are you so cute?” Chaeyoung tried to kiss her cheeks, but she failed. Jihyo was good at dodging affection from her friends. 

Funny, Chaeyoung could’ve sworn she saw her hugging and kissing Dahyun on the cheek. 

“There will be cake in fifteen minutes! Please stop complaining about it now, thank you,” announced Jihyo from the kitchen. 

There were relieved sighs and some whines coming from the living room.

Chaeyoung took the opportunity to sit down and unwind a little after all the tiring taking care and worrying about her friends, and thoughts about Mina. 

Just as the Japanese girl crossed her mind, there she was, coming over to Chaeyoung.

“Hey, Chaengie.”

“Hey, Mina,” she said as she gave the other girl some space on the couch for her to sit down too.

“I know you said you were fine earlier, just tired, but I don’t know… I just came to ask if everything was ok for real.”

Chaeyoung sighed and looked at nothing for a moment, thinking of what to say.

_Fuck it_. 

“It’s just- Ok. There’s this girl and we kind of have… history. We are buddies and stuff but now I think I have feelings for her…? And I don’t know what to do about it because she doesn’t feel the same for me, I’m just lost.” 

She prayed to all the gods that Mina wouldn’t read between the lines and figure it out it was about her. 

“Well. That’s a sticky situation. You should tell her. If you truly are buddies she’ll understand and remain your friend. If she’s a bitch about it, then she wasn’t your friend in the first place. And there’s always a chance that she likes you back!” 

“I guess you’re right, Mina. Thanks.” 

“No problem, Chaengie. Hope things work out for you.” 

_Yeah, I hope so too_. 

// 

“So… I wasn’t wrong after all, huh?” 

“What?” 

“You and Chaeyoung…” Sana took a sip of her drink, making a suggesting face. 

“Ok, here’s the thing. I think I might have feelings for her, but she just told me that she likes someone else.” 

Sana almost choked on her drink. 

“What? No way!” 

“Yes way. She just told me she likes this girl, they have ‘history’ and they are friends and Chaeyoung has feelings for her, but the girl doesn’t like her back.” 

The older girl started laughing and put a hand on Mina’s shoulders. 

“Oh, sweetie. You’re so naïve.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“You’ll understand sooner or later. Just don’t give up on her, ok?” 

“What? Sana-” 

“Sana!” 

“Oops, Mina, gotta go, my hot girlfriend is calling my name, bye!” 

_What did Sana mean?_

// 

The small party was coming to an end, Tzuyu, Elkie, Dahyun and Momo were the only one left. 

“Hey, you guys want a little Group Therapy after party? We can just hang out and- ooh! We could get some junk food!” Momo suggested. She was getting desperate, honestly. Her dream was supposed to become true, but as soon as the kiss ended and she saw how Nayeon reacted she felt so… lonely. She just needed company. 

“Oh, I don’t know, Momo…” Chaeyoung said, exhaustion getting to her. “It’s been a long day.”

“I’ll also pass this one, Momoring. Elkie and I are going on a road trip early in the morning.”

“Yaaah! You guys are such buzzkills!” Momo pouted and crossed her arms.

“We could hang out just the two of us, Momo-yah. I also don't want the night to end now.”

“Yay!” Momo jumped on the younger girl’s neck, hugging her tightly. “Thank you, Dubu. That’s why you’re my second favorite person in here.”

“Second favorite? I thought I was your number one!”

“Elkie is my favorite because she’s not fucked up like us.”

“Well, you have a point. My wifey is pretty dandy.” Tzuyu and Elkie kissed swiftly.

“Ew.” the other girls said in unison. 

\--

“So, what are tonight’s plans?” Dahyun asked as they made way to Momo’s car.

“There’s not really a plan… I just didn’t want deal with Jihyo and Sana in the apartment. Or the loneliness, if Sana is at Jihyo’s.”

“Ok, gotcha. Let’s go to my place. Tzuyu is at Elkie’s and… I have booze.” Dahyun said dramatically as if announcing the most brilliant thing in the world. For them, it was.

\--

“And two shots of vodka!” Dahyun poured into the drink what was obviously more than two shots of vodka. 

Momo laughed and clapped like a little excited kid.

“Is it ready?”

“Just a little bit of sugar, and… done! Here you go, milady.”

“Thank you, fair lady.”

“Cheers!”

“Cheers to a lovely little after party, just the two of us!”

“To Dahmo!”

“Dahmo!”

They both drank the weird yellow colored drink that tasted too sweet to have three plus shots of vodka. 

\--

“Just one more, Momo, one more.”

“Dahyunnieeee! If I’m already drunk imagine you… you’re so small, so tiny and I never see you drinking.”

“Just one more, Momo, one more,” Dahyun repeated as she raised her finger in the air, telling to Momo to be quiet as she drank more alcohol. 

“Dahyunnie! Chaeyoung is going to be mad at me!”

“Well, if she goes all ‘taking care of other’s lives’ tell her to fuck off because it was my decision.” Dahyun slurred. A lot.

“I though that was Jeongyeon’s job.”

“See… Jeongyeon is more of the protective kind. She reacts, she is there when you fall. Chaeyong is constantly thinking of ways to not let you fall in the first place. It’s good when it helps, but sometimes it’s just annoying, you know? Let me live! Let me cry because of Sana! I don’t know what I’m talking about anymore.”

Dahyun started laughing uncontrollably and Momo joined her.

“I see your point, though. She hasn’t really intervened in my life at all, but I see how she’s always there. I like that because I need attention, but I understand if you don’t, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah. I love her and shit… and that’s it. Sometimes Tzuyu is more motherly than her, like when Jihyo and Sana started dating, she was asking me like all the time if I was fine. Maybe it’s me that doesn’t like so much… smothering. Is that a word?”

“I think so.”

Dahyun stared at some point on the ceiling, nodding to herself.

“Cute.” Momo spoke out of the blue. 

“Hm?”

“Cute. You’re cute.”

“Just like that?”

“Yeah, just like that. You’re over there, shaking your head, your cheeks are fluffy. You’re cute.”

Dahyun sighed.

“People always say I’m cute. I like it, but I want to be hot too, sexy and stuff.”

“Well, you’re hot. And sexy. Especially when you play the piano and you have this focused face. So hot.”

“You think I’m hot?”

“Yep.”

“And you’re not saying it just because that’s what I want to hear?”

“Nope.”

Dahyun got up from her seat and strut over to Momo, almost losing her balance in the first few steps. Momo’s mind was hazy. She was confused.

The younger girl wrapped her legs around hers, straddling her and putting her arms on both side of Momo’s head, supporting herself with the back of the couch.

“Is this hot?”

“Yes.”

Dahyun put her face closer to Momo’s. She could smell the alcohol on the younger girl’s breath. This was stupid, but it felt so good.

“Is this hot?”

Momo couldn’t even answer anymore, she just whined. It would’ve been a moan, but she held it in.

God, if Nayeon had treated her properly this would not have happened.

Dahyun smirked, seeing her effects on the older girl. They couldn’t take it anymore and just started making out. It was messy, but it felt good feeling wanted. Both of them needed this. They were both rejected or left out for so long, some fun wouldn’t hurt. 

But the headache in the morning after did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i have a twitter! @jjujjuwrites


	8. talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they talk. a lot. but that's the only thing that they do.
> 
> they're so useless omg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i have a twitter! @jjujjuwrites

_Dahyun,_

_I'm sorry, I had to leave early._

_Text me later_

_xoxo_

_\- momo :))_

Dahyun read and reread the little sticky note over and over again. Memories of the night before flashing through her mind. Her head hurt a lot, but she kept on remembering. The image of Momo's body printed on her brain. It was all fuzzy, and her thoughts kept going back to the sounds they made.

_Fuck._

Dahyun was sober enough to to know it was a mistake. It felt good to let go for once, but she knew that it wasn't right, her and Momo. Maybe that's what she meant on her note, to text her later.

//

Chaeyoung woke up with her phone ringing, and she was sure it wasn't the first time.

It was Dahyun again, waking her up in the morning after an exhausting night of dealing with her friends - she wanted to blame it on Mina, which was the true cause of her troubling, but also didn't want to admit her feelings through and through.

"Hello?" Chaeyoung answered the phone with her voice still hoarse and her eyes barely open.

_"I slept with Momo."_

"Yeah, I know, you guys left my place together. Why are you calling to tell me you guys had a sleepover?"

_"I slept with Momo in the sexual way."_

_Oh._

"Oh."

_"Yeah... oh."_

"Well, fuck. Was it- was it consensual?"

_"Of course, Chaengie. We were drunk but not that much."_

"Wait, you were drunk?"

_"Do you think we would've had sex sober?"_

"Yeah, you've got a point."

They were both silent for a while. Chaeyoung was still trying to process the new piece of information, and she was sure Dahyun was trying to find the right words to say.

_"I- I'll text her later so we can talk, but I think I'm ok with everything."_

"What do you mean?"

_"Like, I know what we did was not the right thing to do, for both of us. It was fun, yes, but not the right move, you know? I love her very dearly, but not in that way, I think."_

"Well, then... It'd be good to talk to her."

Chaeyoung was still a little perplexed.

_"Yeah, I will. I just need the drill inside my head to stop first."_

"Ok... But fuck! I did not anticipate this at all."

_"That's life, Chaeyoung. Shit happens and sometimes you can't predict everything."_

Chaeyoung kept quiet for a moment, thinking about Dahyun's words. Did she mean anything? Was she shading something?

_"Well, I'll get going, take a shower, maybe thee pain killers too, and eat. I'll let you know if anything happens. Bye, Chaengie."_

"Bye, Dubu. Thank you for sharing. Catch you later."

Well... fuck.

//

Momo was pacing around the living room for at least twenty minutes. She had bolted out of Dahyun's place to her home so she could think about the events of last night. Nayeon gave her a lap dance and then made out with her. She slept with Dahyun. She had sex with Kim Fucking Dahyun.

"For fuck's sake, Momo. You woke me up with your goddamn stomping, what the hell are you doing?"

Momo looked around the place, behind Sana.

"Is Jihyo here?"

"No, she went back to her place last night."

"Ok..."

The younger girl kept on pacing. Sana stood there with her arms open in confusion, expecting Momo to explain whatever was going on.

"Are you gonna tell me what's up or can I go back to sleep?"

"It's just- Sana, I- I don't know how to tell you this."

"I think now you'll just have to tell me." Sana sat down on the couch, waiting for her friend to speak up. "Is it about Mina?"

"What? No, no... It's- it's about Dahyun."

Momo noticed how Sana stiffened up with the mention of that name and she sat next to her to regain some grounding. 

"What's about Dahyun?"

She sighed before telling her what happened.

"Dahyun and I didn't want the night to end so early last night so we went to her place to drink and just hang out, you know?"

"Ok, fun. So why are you this anxious? What happened?"

"Sana..." Momo's head dropped a little, thinking of how to phrase what she was about to say, but found no other better way. "Dahyun and I... we slept together." She let go of the breath she was holding in unconsciously.

"Oh."

Sana looked at a fixated point on the wall, her mind far away. Momo was scared of how she'd react, she knew Sana had some sort of feeling for Dahyun but didn't want to admit - Momo realized how her best friends were all obtuse.

"Sana, I- we-"

"You said you guys drank. So you were drunk?” Sana's voice tone was flat but certain.

Momo knew what she was implying.

"I mean, yes, but we were still conscious of what we were doing."

"So it was consensual?"

"Of course it was."

"Well... ok then."

"Ok?"

"Yeah, ok." Sana's face said otherwise.

"Sana, I love Dahyun as a friend, what happened last night was because of how lonely we both were, we just needed to let it go and it just sort of... happened."

"If you could undo it, would you?"

"Huh?"

"Did you regret it?"

Momo was caught in a dead end. If she answered "no" it could break Sana's heart; if she answered "yes" she would be saying that Dahyun wasn't that attractive or good enough.

"Sana..." Momo whined, in a way to beg the girl to stop torturing her, she was already in enough pain. "We had fun, but in the end it wasn't meant to be. Dahyun and I are just friends and that's going to remain the same."

"That's a fancy way of saying you did. But I believe in you, Momoring, don't worry. Just talk to her and say how you feel about everything, make it all clear."

Momo sighed in relieve.

"Of course, Sana, I will."

"Well, then, I'll go back to my beauty sleep."

Just as the older girl was getting up, Momo held her wrist, stopping her from leaving. "And Sana? You should tell Dahyun how you feel too."

Sana opened her moth to say something but gave up before she could. She just nodded and smiled weakly before leaving the room.

That could've gone worse.

But there was still someone else she had to talk to.

\--

_momoring?_

**13:12.**

_hey dubu!_

_i was about to text u lol_

**13:12. READ.**

_talk about timing then hehe_

_so..._

_about last night.._

**13:14.**

_yeah, about last night..._

**13:14. READ.**

_it was a mistake, right?_

_or did i read it wrong?_

**13:15.**

_oh thank god_

_yes it was a mistake_

_i though i was the asshole one_

**13:16. READ.**

_oh so I am the asshole??_

**13:16.**

_i mean, you kind of are_

_but in this situation_

_we're both assholes lol_

**13:17. READ.**

_i guess so_

_but friendly assholes?_

**13:18.**

_yes_

_besfriends assholes_

_assholes that are best friends_

**13:18. READ**

_cool cool cool cool_

_glad we're on the same page_

_have you perhaps said anything to Sana?_

**13:20.**

_would it be bad if i did?_

**13:21. READ.**

_i think it depends on how she reacted.._

**13:22.**

_let's talk in person, yeah?_

**13:22. READ.**

//

**momoring**

_ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!_

_EMERGENCY GROUP THERAPY REUNION!_

**13:28.**

**dubuuuuu**

_i second that_

**13:28.**

_oh god..._

_so you two already talked?_

**13:30. READ.**

**dubuuuuu**

_yep_

_all is gud_

**13:31.**

**yoda <3**

_Wait, what's going on?_

**13:31.**

**momoring**

_dubu and i had drunken sex last night_

_and well yknow there's sana....._

**13:32.**

**yoda <3**

_..._

_I'm at the beach with Elkie and don't wanna deal_

_with any of this_

_Just tell me whatever you guys talk about later._

**13:33.**

_sajkhskshfsdhfksdhfsdlhsd_

_you guys broke tzuyu_

**13:34. SENT.**

**dubuuuuu**

_disappointed but not surprised_

**13:35.**

**momoring**

_lol_

_ok, so dahyun's place?_

**13:36.**

_wait, now??_

_you guys do now i also need to work_

_and live?_

**13:37. SENT.**

**dubuuuuu**

_we all know you'd drop everything to gossip_

_and lend us a shoulder to cry on_

**13:38.**

_i hate you_

**13:38. SENT.**

_on my way!!_

**13:44. SENT.**

//

"Hey, Ji? Could you please stop drooling because of Sana and drop your phone? I need to talk to you guys," said Nayeon all of the sudden.

Lazy Saturdays were the best, and Jeongyeon loved to spend them with her best friends. They were rare since the girls were all struggling artists, which made them even more precious to the three of them. 

They were supposed to be watching the British reality show Jihyo so loved, but the younger girl kept texting Sana. The other girls didn't mind, she had been like this ever since their first date and they all understood the honeymoon phase.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. What's up?" Jihyo's guilty face was a cute sight. She immediately put her phone away and paid close attention to her friends.

Jeongyeon had an inkling about what this talk was about.

"It's about Momo."

And she was right.

"Did something finally happen?" asked Jihyo.

"Well, yes. But I think I screwed things up."

"Oh, no..." Jeongyeon spoke. "Last night?"

Nayeon nodded before talking again. "Yeah, last night we kissed. It was more like making out, and oh my God! she's amazing, we have so much chemistry, I- Speechless, you know?"

"But..." Jihyo started.

"But... I kind of freaked out at the end. She said my name with so much love and I got so scared... I don't know why, but I just did, it was like the thought of her loving me would only hurt her in the long run and I don't want to hurt her anymore."

Nayeon was staring straight forward, at nothing, and tears just started streaming down her face. Both girls were instantly by her side, holding her even if the slightest just to let the older girl know they were there for her.

"It's ok, Bunny, let it out." Jihyo spoke as Jeongyeon played with Nayeon's hair.

"Like, I know I want her and I know she wants me, but... does she really want me? This ball of false confidence and full of insecurities because it has mommy issues? The ball is me, guys. Like... what does she see in me? Besides my beauty, of course."

Nayeon liked making jokes about herself to make the mood lighter in situations like this. It sure helped, and Jeongyeon was glad because it made it easier to be real and sincere to the core.

"Look, Nayeon. I think that what she sees in you is... well, you. You may not believe it, but you're a fucking amazing person." Jeongyeon was the first to speak up.

"Yeah, and besides, I know damn well what it's like to be insecure. You know how hard it was for me to be somewhat successful in the art department and how even harder it was for me to think I was decent at acting, especially when my dream was to sing." That was Jihyo's go-to speech on insecurity and hard work. It always worked, for Jeongyeon at least.

"Nayeon, I'm going to be real here. I already told you this, but I think now it's more urgent than before. The only way you can stop hurting her is by being honest with her and yourself. You tell her how you feel, you show her your true side, which I believe she's already seen and you didn't notice. She decides if she wants to stay or not."

"I second that," the younger girl said.

Jeongyeon loved their friendship. They could be completely honest with each other, no need to sugarcoat. They all knew they loved each other and were there when they needed, and knew when they needed to just say what’s wrong straight to the face.

Nayeon sighed. “Yeah, I know you’re right. And I’ll do it. I guess it’s now or never, right?”

The girls nodded and laid their heads on both of Nayeon’s shoulders.

“If anything happens, we’ll be here for you,” said Jihyo.

“Always,” complemented Jeongyeon.

//

Momo was finishing putting some deodorant on before heading over to Dahyun’s when she heard her phone beeping, indicating a new text message.

Why in the hell was Nayeon texting her? Especially after the night before and whatever their kiss was. Momo was not in the right mind to deal with the older girl, she was worried about Dahyun and Sana.

_hey, moguri_

_can we talk?_

_in person?_

**13:40.**

_now it’s not a good time, nayeon_

_we’ll talk later, i gotta go now._

**13:41. READ.**

_oh ok_

_however is best_

**13:41.**

Momo hated not giving Nayeon the right attention, but she had more urgent things to deal with.

//

“Ok, bitches, I call this Group Therapy session officially open.” Chaeyoung announced after Momo arrived at Dahyun’s place.

“It’s my place so I think I should be the one opening and closing the session.”

“That’s not how it works, Dubu.”

“Shut up, you two. We need to discuss Dahyun and I and Dahyun and Sana,” said Momo while sitting down on the couch and making herself comfortable for the “session”.

“God, I’m still hung over, can we all be a little more quiet?”

“No. So, Momo, tell me what happened last night.”

“With Nayeon or Dahyun?”

“I forgot you and Nayeon had a thing in the bathroom, oh my God!” Dahyun said running a hand down her face. “You whore!”

Momo winked jokingly.

“I also kind of forgot about Nayeon… Let’s talk about Dahyun first.”

“Well, there’s not much to it, right, Dubu? We got drunk and horny, and, well…”

“Yeah, that’s basically it. We decided to just be friends and we both agree that last night was a mistake,” finished Dahyun.

“Ok, cool. So I’m assuming this emergency reunion is about Sana, right?”

“Exactly, Chaengie. Dahyun needs to do something about it now.”

Chaeyoung chuckled at the way they were all taking this “group therapy” thing seriously. It was silly and she loved it.

Dahyun closed her eyes and sighed.

“Here’s the thing. I know I probably should do something, but is it worth it? She’s dating Jihyo and they are obviously happy, it’s been a long time coming. Me interfering is not going to do any good.” She was exasperated.

“It might be good for your mental health, Dubu,” spoke Chaeyoung.

“Yeah, and Sana wasn’t exactly happy when I told her about last night.”

The other Korean girl sighed once more, completely ignoring the fact that Momo basically said Sana had feelings for her. Chaeyoung loved her friends, but were they stupid sometimes.

“I’m tired, I have a headache and I don’t want to deal with this right now.”

“Dahyunnie, I understand, more than anyone, I think. I’ve been running away from my problems and it lead me nowhere, it only brought me more problems. So, please, if not for Sana, if not for yourself, do this for me.”

Chaeyoung almost teared up at Momo’s words. She sometimes would forget how the Japanese girl is in so much pain, focusing only on the problem and not her friend. She should be a better friend, but it seemed like everything was taken care of. Why was she even there talking about their situations if she was no help? She had to do something.

“I agree with Momo,” said the younger girl weakly, to feel included in the conversation.

Dahyun alternated her gaze between both of her friends before speaking. “Ok, I suppose you’re right. I just need more time, ok?”

Momo’s head faltered a little, Chaeyoung could read defeat through her body language. Maybe the older girl wanted results right away; she was the one that knew most about Sana. Perhaps it was a situation of urgency.

Momo didn’t push, though.

“Ok, Dubu. Whatever makes you more comfortable, ok?”

“We’re here for you,” added the younger girl with a weak smile.

“Thanks, guys. If you excuse me, I need to take a nap. I’ll let Tzuyu know of what we talked about.”

And just like that, the session had ended. Chaeyoung took a mental note to never have another reunion with the members hung-over.

“Well, that did not go as I wanted,” Momo said as soon as they left Dahyun’s apartment.

Chaeyoung laughed.

“What did you expect from Dubu?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I just hoped that maybe she would understand my urgency, but I guess not…” Momo was incredibely disappointed.

“I think it’s because she doesn’t know how Sana feels, only you can read her. Well, and Mina.”

“I know, but Sana is not very helpful either. I thought maybe Dahyun could give the starting kick, you know?”

They fell into comfortable and pensive silence, both of them with their minds on their respective best friends as they walked to their cars.

“Momo, I really do hope things work out. Don’t worry too much, ok?”

“Thank you, Chaengie. It’s good to have someone I can count on.”

“One, two, three, four, five…”

“Jesus Christ, you have to stop hanging out with Jeongyeon, it’s giving you brain damage.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thoughts on Jengyeon x Sunmi?? 
> 
> (also, there will be a chapter telling more about sahyo!!)


	9. flashbacks: sana and jihyo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the night they met, sana's mission, jihyo's drunk messages and the mess they are about to get into. enjoy this sahyo mess!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof
> 
> hi! i have a twitter! @jjujjuwrites

_“Jihyo hates physical contact.”_

_“Oh.”_

_“Yeah, we’ve been trying to get to that level of intimacy for a while, but you know, if she doesn’t like it, what can we do?” Nayeon explained._

_“It’s just that I’m a very touchy person, I don’t know if you guys noticed.”_

_“Oh, yes we did, Sana,” said Dahyun, whose shoulders were being wrapped around by Sana’s right arm at that moment._

_The Japanese girl giggled and kissed Dahyun’s temple._

_Sana had just met the girls but she already loved them. It was nice feeling included into such a big group of people._

_She looked around the place – Chaeyoung’s place, if she remembered correctly. Momo was deep into conversation with Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung, all of them cracking dad jokes. Mina was quietly talking in a corner with Tzuyu, both of them basically watching everyone else and laughing. Jihyo soon joined them, making their bird chirping conversation more lively and loud._

_Sana couldn’t tear her eyes away from the Korean girl. She understood the concept of someone not being comfortable with touchiness, but she strongly believed it was always caused by some sort of trauma or deeply buried reason. It became Sana’s life mission to find out what Jihyo’s reason was and convert the girl to the Affectionate side of the Force._

_\--_

_It was cute seeing Mina get so excited over a crush. Momo kept teasing the younger girl and Sana just watched and laughed. It felt nice, being part of a small friend group that felt more like her sisters. She was very happy with the way things were going with their new six friends, but having her two favorite people to come to when they needed was good, too._

_“Mina and Chaeyoung, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Momo sing sang._

_“Yah, Momo! It’s not like I’m in love with her, it’s just a date!”_

_“You’re obviously in love, Mina-yah, don’t deny it,” teased Sana._

_Mina sank her face onto a pillow, hiding her reddened face._

_“First comes love, then comes marriage…” Momo continued singing and dancing to the song._

_Mina whined once more. “Stop, Momo-yah,” she begged. “Why don’t you tease Sana, she won’t stop talking about Jihyo.”_

_“What?” Momo stopped dancing immediately. “I thought she liked Dahyun.”_

_“What?” Sana said, confused. She didn’t have a crush on anyone. She just wanted to “convert” Jihyo and, well, Dahyun was too cute and squishy, she couldn’t help herself. “I- I don’t have a crush on anyone, you guys. What about Momo drooling over Nayeon, huh?”_

_“Oh, yeah, change the subject, good one!” Momo said, jokingly angry._

_“Yes, oh my God! She stares at her every time they are in the same room!” Mina ignored the older girl._

_“I bet she stares at her profile picture too.”_

_“That’s not true!”_

_“Momo and Nayeon, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…” the younger one started singing as revenge._

_Sana successfully changed the subject, making Momo run around the apartment after Mina, threatening to hit her with a pillow. Sana just laughed, unable to help either of them._

_//_

_This time, their almost weekly get together was at Mina’s place. Chaeyoung gave the excuse that they wanted to integrate the Japanese girls properly, like a house warming party. They all knew it was because the girl was in love with Mina and wanted to sleep over at her place._

_Jihyo liked consistency, so the idea of having their ritualistic reunion at someone elses’s place – it was either at Chaeyoung’s or hers – was not exactly cheering her up._

_She changed her mind completely when she saw Mina’s house – or better, mansion. Chaeyoung had mentioned the Japanese girl had a little more privileges, but damn._

_“Jesus Christ, Mina. You forgot to mention you lived in a castle.” Jihyo said, still looking around the place._

_The comment made Mina blush hard. Maybe she was embarrassed of talking about her wealth._

_“Oh, it’s just, um- my parents insisted on buying me this place. I don’t really like it, to be honest, it gets lonely.”_

_“Oh, I’m sorry.” Did Jihyo just touch on a soft spot?_

_“It’s ok, Jihyo!” Mina giggled. “I just don’t like talking about this stuff, it feels like bragging.”_

_Mina was cute and nice. Jihyo approved whatever Chaeyoung wanted with the girl._

_“Yay, everyone’s arrived!” Momo said when she walked downstairs, reaching the living room where everyone was. Sana followed her._

_“Hi, Jeong, Nayeon, Chaengie, Tzuyu, Dahynnie!” Sana greeted everyone, looking into their eyes as she said their names. She paused before greeting the last one, getting closer and closer to her. “And… Sana’s Jihyo!”_

_The Japanese girl enveloped Jihyo in a tigh and quick hug, surprising her._

_“Oh.” Was all Jihyo could say with the girl so close to her. After the hug ended and she could think, she spoke again. “Wait, you’re already claiming me yours, just like that?” She teased._

_“Yep.” Sana simply giggled and skipped away, as if she hadn’t just flirted with her._

_Sana was, indeed, something else. She should listen to Dahyun more._

_\--_

**_Jeong-Jeong_ **

guys

chaeyoung is almost dying

i don’t think she can handle mina

**_18:02._ **

****

**_Bunny_ **

lmaoooo

is she freaking out over a DATE??

**_18:03._ **

****

I can’t really blame her

Mina is literally an angel.

**_18:03. READ._ **

****

**_Chaeyoungie_ **

NOT VERY HELPFUL JIHYO

**_18:04._ **

****

Maybe.

But it’s the truth.

**_18:04. READ._ **

****

**_Tzuyu-ah_ **

I wish I was there to see Chaeyoung freak out…

**_18:05._ **

****

**_Dahyunnie_ **

same…

**_18:05._ **

****

Did you guys do well on your exams?

**_18:06. READ._ **

****

**_Tzuyu-ah_ **

Hell yes.

I’ll dominate this photography thing soon.

**_18:06._ **

****

**_Dahyunnie_ **

i don’t think i’m as confident

but i think i did well

**_18:07._ **

****

I’m so happy for you guys!!

**_18:07._ **

****

**_Chaeyoungie_ **

OH MY FFUKFNG GODSS A´JASDJSKD

CAN WE FOCUS ON MY DATE??

**_18:08._ **

****

**_Bunny_ **

STOP SCREAMING THEN

**18:08.**

**Chaeyoungie**

FUCKCCDJCDK UYOUO

**_18:09._ **

****

Language!

**_18:09. READ._ **

****

**_Dahyunnie_ **

hey, why don’t we add Momo and Sana

and ask them if they think Chaeyoung can handle Mina?

**_18:10._ **

****

**_Bunny_ **

phenomenal idea!!!

**_18:11._ **

**Bunny has added Momo, Sana.**

****

**_Bunny_ **

welcome to hell, ladies

**_18:11._ **

****

We’ll add Mina later

After the date hehe

**_18:11. READ._ **

****

**_Sana_ **

oh my god I’m already loving this

**_18:12._ **

****

**_Dahyunnie_ **

we’re here to ask the million dollar question:

can Chaeyoung handle Mina?

**_18:12._ **

****

**_Chaeyoungie_ **

DJKDSBNKNJKSNDKJDPAK

WTFFFFF?????

NKDCBNSCJSPDJIOPJQPJWIJDEJ

**_18:13._ **

****

**_Jeong-Jeong_ **

i’m currently with Chaengie

and she’s freaking out

her date is in an hour

fun times

**_18:14._ **

****

**_Momo_ **

oh, i see

yeah, no

mina’s too much for chaengie

**_18:14._ **

****

**_Chaeyoungie_ **

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

**_18:15._ **

****

**_Momo_ **

i’m just kidding lol

chill out

i’m sure Mina’s freaking out too

**_18:15._ **

****

**_Sana_ **

from how much I know mina

yes, she is also freaking out

and you two are so cute together!!!

I ship it

**_18:16._ **

****

See, Chaengie?

Mina is also a person with insecurities

Don’t stress too much

**_18:17. READ._ **

****

**_Chaeyoungie_ **

five minutes ago you were saying she is

“literally an angel”!!!!!

**_18:17._ **

****

…

**_18:18. READ._ **

****

**_Bunny_ **

DOUBLE STANDARDS!

**_18:18._ **

****

**_Sana_ **

oooooh

that means I have a chance then

hehehe

**_18:19._ **

_Jihyo still didn’t know if she hated or loved when Sana flirted with her; but from the way she reacted to her texts already indicated that she was probably doomed._

_\--_

_Jihyo found herself pulling away from a kiss on the cheek for the third time that night._

_“Yah, Jihyo! Let me show some affection!” Nayeon whined._

_“I never let you kiss me, why do you think that would have changed now?”_

_“Because I see Sana being touchy with you, I thought maybe you like affection now, I don’t know.”_

Fuck.

_At least Jihyo knew she wasn’t going crazy or imagining things. She was indeed going soft for Minatozaki Sana, but for her only._

_It’s not like she had feelings for the girl. She knew the Japanese girl was affectionate with everyone, Jihyo wasn’t special – although Sana made her feel like it._

_For example, in that same moment, Sana was showering Dahyun with kisses all the while squishing Momo’s cheeks with her free hand. The younger girl was whining and almost screaming – Jihyo knew she was not so secretly enjoying the attention – and Momo seemed like she was used to it, no changes in her expression._

_It was said little screams from Dahyun that saved Jihyo from her conversation._

_Nayeon pulled away, laughing at Sana’s antics and joking with them._

_Jihyo was two seconds away from saying something stupid._

_//_

_Sana already considered the six girls her new family, even if she had a crush on one of them. Maybe two._

_Momo and Mina’s words wouldn’t get out of her head. Did she really have a crush on both Jihyo and Dahyun? It would be too selfish, and Sana hated being selfish; she just wanted to give love to everyone and not expect anything in return._

_She missed receiving attention, though, and that was something that Dahyun gave to her. Jihyo too, in her on way, especially when she was drunk._

_She loved inviting the girls out for clubbing or simply drinking just to see Drunk Jihyo and Tipsy Dahyun. They were cuter and sexier than they used to. It was like everything Sana loved about them was enhanced by the truth serum called alcohol, or maybe it was said liquid that made everything feel louder and amplified._

_Either way, she was on the dance floor basically grinding on Jihyo, the girl’s mouth merely inches away from hers, it would only take a slight push to close the distance. But she didn’t because she heard Dahyun loud drunk voice from far away and felt guilty. Sana always felt guilty when flirting with either of them. It was unfair to Dahyun, who didn’t have Jihyo’s level of confidence. She knew that if she said the word, Dahyun would go out with her, but, then, it would be unfair to Jihyo. She put herself more out there for Sana, but never took it to the next level, maybe she was afraid of something, Sana wasn’t sure. She only knew that she didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings._

_Even though she was drunk, she made a smart decision: to not make moves in either of them. She didn’t want to take the responsibility of choosing one of them, she preferred them doing that. Whoever asked her out first, she would say yes. It still didn’t sound like the best outcome, but it was the more just thing to do. She just couldn’t choose between them and felt too selfish having both._

_//_

_It had been almost three years. Three years since she met Sana; Nayeon’s life got turned upside down because of Momo; and, well, the mess that was Chaeyoung and Mina. It didn’t seem like a mess because they cleaned up almost everything, but still, a mess. Almost three years since she met Sana._

_Cheers._

_She raised the third or fourth shot of tequila and downed it in one gulp. Her friends from work did the same. It felt nice going out with friendly faces that weren’t: 1. Sana; or 2. Sana’s friends that would more likely tease them._

_She couldn’t get her out of her head._

_Sana._

_\--_

_Well, apparently her fingers were faster than her mind. She blinked and somehow Sana’s contact photo was in front of her, text conversation open._

_She was halfway there, wasn’t she? It wouldn’t take much to just type the words and send it. She knew Sana would say yes, she bloody knew it. The only thing stopping her was Dahyun. She felt bad for the girl, she knew she also liked Sana._

_When she thought about the younger girl, she couldn’t stop. Dahyun’s smile was contagious. She was so pretty… God, was she drunk. She was thinking about both Sana and Dahyun. That’s why she stopped getting drunk around the two, she was sure she wouldn’t stop herself._

_Sana. Text message._

Fuck it.

_Will you go on a date with me?_

**_00:07 AM. READ._ **

_oh my god finally!_

_yes, it'll be my pleasure_

_this friday night?_

**_00:08 AM._ **

_It's a date._

**_00:08 AM. READ._ **

_What’s done is done, eh?_

_//_

_Jihyo was a cute mess. She was visibly nervous and tense._

_Sana smiled and put a hand on the girl’s arm. “So, where are you taking me, Jihyo-yah?”_

_Jihyo sighed. “There’s the problem, Sana. I didn’t know where to go. Nothing I thought of felt good enough for you, you know?”_

_“Yah! Don’t be silly. Everything feels special and romantic when it’s with you. Let’s just go anywhere.”_

_“Like where?”_

_Sana was scrambling for an idea, holding her finger on her pouting mouth. She pretended she didn’t notice the way Jihyo looked at her lips._

_“Oh, remember when you were showing me and the girls around town and you took us to that amazing ice cream place? Why don’t we go there? It’s been a while since I’ve had ice cream, Momo won’t share hers…”_

_“Sounds great, Sana.”_

_Jihyo seemed calmer, which made Sana happy. She fully grabbed the Korean’s girl’s arm and skipped all the way to her car._

_\--_

_“You didn’t have to pay for mine, but thanks for the ice cream, Jihyo-yah!” Sana said in the cutest way she could master to really show her gratitude. It was, indeed, the best ice cream in town._

_“Hey, I’m taking you on a date, I’ll pay for it.”_

_“So old fashioned…” Sana giggled and kissed Jihyo on the cheek, making her blush._

_They were walking around the park, their arms still interlaced. It felt good to be flirty and touchy with Jihyo so openly and honestly, to just be as affectionate as she wanted without feeling guilty. She wasn’t the one that made the decision, after all._

_“Are you sure this is ok? Just ice cream and the park?”_

_“Are you still worried about taking me somewhere fancy, Ji?” The younger girl nodded. “Well, don’t be. This is great, just you and me and ice cream. The most perfect combination, don’t you think?”_

_“Well, I can’t deny it.”_

_“Then just enjoy this beautiful day with me!”_

_Sana let go of Jihyo and started spinning around._

_“Are you like a spinning top, now?”_

_“I’m spinning, but you’ll have to find out if I’m a top later, babe.” Sana winked before laughing and ruuning away._

_Jihyo chased her down, both of them giggling._

_Sana eventually got tired of running, and Jihyo caught up to her, almost tackling the girl. They fell down on the grass, Jihyo’s hair swaying over Sana’s face. The latter pushed a few strands behind Jihyo’s ears, making her blush once again._

_“You’re so cute when you blush.”_

_“Shut up, I was going to make a joke about me topping you now.” They giggled._

_Sana moved her hand to Jihyo’s nape, pulling her closer._

_“You’re such a dork. I love it.”_

_“Just shut up and kiss me.” Jihyo said impatiently._

_Sana smirked and finally closed the distance._

_They got lost in their little love bubble, completely forgetting they were in a public place. They didn’t care, though. They had waited too long for this moment._

_//_

_It had been only a couple of weeks since their first date. Ever since then, they had spent almost every day side by side, alternating between their apartments so their roommates wouldn’t get too tired of them._

_It had been only a couple of weeks but they had been flirting and teasing for more than three years. Jihyo would most likely say yes if Sana proposed to her then. She was in heaven. But she knew something felt off with the older girl, it was like there was something missing._

_She was getting ready for a small gathering at Chaeyoung’s place – their weekly encounters became monthly because of life, so she made sure to hang out with them whenever she could. In between hair brushes, she received a call from Sana. She wanted to talk to her before going over at Chaeyoung’s. Jihyo said yes, of course, she could never say no to the girl._

_“Jihyo, I don’t feel good about some stuff and I- I feel so guilty.” Sana was almost crying when she got to Jihyo’s place._

_“Hey, it’s ok. You can talk to me about anything, you know that.”_

_It hurt Jihyo seeing her like that, so desperate and lost._

_“I- it’s so hard telling you this, but it must be said if we want to go any further. I- I have feelings for Dahyun, but I also have feelings for you. A lot of feelings. I really like you, Jihyo, but I don’t know what to do about Dubu.”_

_Jihyo wasn’t very surprised, she kind of knew it was coming. For some reason, she didn’t feel bad at all, in fact, she wanted Sana and Dahyun to talk, she hated them being weird because of her._

_“Sana…” Jihyo started._

_“I understand if you don’t want to be with me anymore, I really do-”_

_“Sana, let me talk. Listen, I kind of saw this coming, I mean, it was kind of obvious that you had feelings for her and vice-versa. I really don’t know what to do here because I really like you and want to be with you.” Jihyo didn’t know what else to say. What else to say? She didn’t think things through. She liked Sana, she wanted to be with her no matter what, but what about Dahyun?_

_“What- what are you saying?”_

_“I guess what I’m trying to say is that maybe we can work things out. I don’t know, I just know I want to be with you no matter what.”_

_“Jihyo, you can’t force yourself to be with me just because you like me, you need boundaries, and-”_

_“I don’t think you understand, Sana-yah. I don’t mind you liking Dahyun. I thought about this for a while, you know? Seeing you two together and stuff. And I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t mind seeing you two together as long as you’re with me too._

_I know this sounds a little crazy, but remember that story about Nayeon being in a throuple? I don’t think I’m ready for that – I’m not sure about my feelings towards Dahyun – but maybe we can try something.”_

_“Like… Me dating you_ and _Dahyun?”_

_“I mean, I don’t know, I guess we’d have to talk to her, but yeah… I wouldn’t mind that.”_

_“Wait, wait, wait.” Sana got up, a hand running through her hair. “Wouldn’t that be too selfish of me?”_

_“I don’t think it’s selfish, Sana. You have feelings for two people. Nayeon’s throuple didn’t work because of the lack of communication, but I’ve seen stuff like this work.”_

_“You really don’t mind it?” Sana was still incredulous._

_Jihyo understood; she was also surprised about her feelings. In the end, it was the truth, it just took a while for her to admit it to herself or anyone._

_“I really don’t mind it, Sana.” She grabbed the Japanese girl’s hand, pulling her back down. “I know, it’s a little fucking crazy, but it won’t hurt to try, right?”_

_“There’s a lot of ways this could hurt, but… Ok, we can try.” Sana’s eyes were still widened, her mind probably going 100 miles per hour trying to process everything._

_Jihyo was amazed at how she managed to keep herself calm._

_“Ok, then. We’ll talk to Dahyun – it doesn’t have to be tonight, we can talk more about this just the two of us. And I’ll try to figure out if I feel romantic attraction towards her, is that ok?”_

_“If that means there’s a chance that a threesome would happen, then hell yeah.”_

_“You pervert.”_

_They kissed before getting up to go to Chaeyoung’s._

_Jihyo was little scared, but hopeful. It was good to finally talk to Sana about the obvious unspoken things._

_In the car, Sana turned her face to hers. Jihyo waited for the girl to speak up._

_“I know this might be a little too soon and maybe not a good idea after the talk we just had, but would you like to be my girlfriend? We don’t need to put that label, but like, make it kind of official?”_

_Jihyo smiled with her heart melted. “Yes, Sana, I would love to.”_

_Their previous conversation only made their bond stronger, Jihyo could feel it._

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i caught a virus and barely got up from bed for three days but a sudden inspiration hit me and here i am posting this at 4 a.m


	10. doorsteps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> YES ACTION!! a looooot of things happen, very angsty but fluffy and full of emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i have a twitter! @jjujjuwrites

“Do you think it’s a good idea?”

“She said she didn’t want to talk back then, I think that confronting her in person will make things a lot easier and fix it faster.”

Jeongyeon sighed. She missed the good old days when they would party every single weekend, but it was so tiring. It had been barely a week since the get-together at Chaeyoung’s, but Nayeon wanted another one to fix things up with Momo. Jeongyeon was tired, but her stupid best friend wanted an excuse to see her crush, whom was equally as stupid.

“Ok, Nayeon. As long as I get to sleep early, I’m in.”

“Jesus Christ, Yoo, you’re such a grandma.”

Nayeon started typing and soon Jeongyeon’s cellphone vibrated.

**nayeon (bit teeth)**

_yo bitchessss_

_party at my place_

_tomorrow at eight_

_bring booze_

_and food if you want_

**17:45.**

_that was for you, momoring_

**17:45. SENT.**

**sana**

_I think everyone will need to bring food to feed momo_

_also, jihyo laughed and says hi_

_and that she’ll be there, bunny_

**17:46.**

_are you talking for her, now?_

**17:46. SENT.**

**sana**

_she’s too lazy to go and grab her phone_

_in the living room lol_

**17:46.**

**momo**

_are you guys calling me fat?_

_lol_

_yes, bring me food pls_

**17:48.**

**nayeon (big teeth)**

_so you’ll be there?_

**17:48.**

**momo**

_yes, sure_

**17:49.**

**tzuyu (scary)**

_I’m in, Nayeon._

_I’ll be there_

_Even though we saw each other last weekend_

**17:49.**

_tzuyu really just said_

_I’m tired of seeing your face, nayeon_

_lmaoo_

**17:50. READ.**

**tzuyu (scary)**

_Yes._

**17:50.**

**nayeon (big teeth)**

_> :((_

**17:50.**

**jihyo (big eyes)**

_Hey_

_Grabbed my phone because I had an idea_

_Why don’t we make it in Mina’s place_

_and we make something cool and fancy in the rooftop?_

_If Mina and Nayeon are ok with it, of course._

**17:52.**

**mina**

_Oh_

_It’s been a while since I’ve hosted, right?_

_Hahah, sounds great, Ji_

_I’ll tidy up over here if you guys are in_

**17:53.**

**nayeon (big teeth)**

_omg yes_

_rooftop party at Mina’s mansion it is_

**17:54.**

_I’m excited_

_sounds better than at Nayeon and Jihyo’s_

_dirty peasant apartment_

**17:55. READ.**

**nayeon (big teeth)**

_> :((_

**17:55.**

**jihyo (big eyes)**

_> :((_

**17:56.**

**sana**

_> :((_

_(jihyo is ghostwriting this)_

**17:56.**

//

“So the party at Nayeon’s is now at Mina’s?” Momo asked when Sana arrivied at their place from Jihyo’s.

“Yes, I commented with her about that one time years ago, remember? And she though, you know, why not do it again?”

“Yeah, I recall. I had an inkling that it was your idea.”

“What do you mean?”

Momo sighed. “Like… you keep asking about Mina and I, and our friendship, like something is wrong between us.”

“But, Momo, something is wrong between the two of you. You guys barely talk, not even in the group chat.”

The older girl ran her hands through her hair, stopping them at her chin, resting her head. Something was wrong, yes, Momo was aware. What made things hard for her is that there was no reason for them to not speak. It just sort of happened with time or the lack of it.

She got lost in thought trying to find the catalyst for hers and Mina’s awkwardness, pouting and staring at the ceiling. 

“Momo.” Sana started, getting the girl’s attention. “Just talk to her. You’re always calling me out and telling me to talk to Jihyo or Dahyun, now it’s my turn. Talk to Mina, pretty please? I want my best friends back.”

The words cut through Momo’s chest. It didn’t come to her how much she was hurting from what was going on between the duo – or what wasn’t. Seeing your best friends not talking and distancing from each other must have been painful.

“I- I will. I want my best friend back too, Sana. I don’t know what happened between us, but I’ll fix it, ok?”

“Thanks, Momoring!” Sana hugged her tightly.

The nickname always reminded her of Mina. She was used to being called “Momoring” by her friends, but whenever Mina said it, her heart melted, the younger girls said it in such a cute way; she missed her. Momo promised herself to fight for their friendship so she could hear Mina say her nickname once again. It was worth it.

//

_“Hey, can we chat about, you know, love? Just the two of us?”_

Chaeyoung was taken aback a little by Momo’s requests, not because of the request itself, but the way she said it. It was unusual for the Japanese girl to be so calm and decided when talking about her love life; she usually called Chaeyoung already sobbing.

So there they were, in Chaeyoung’s living room once again with their tea cups, a very common sight for the both of them, if it wasn’t for the smile and calmness on Momo’s face. Chaeyoung was suspicious.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” The younger girl asked after they finished catching up and chatting about whatever.

“Oh, yeah. Today I don’t want advice or to cry about Nayeon, I just wanted your opinion on something.”

“Ok, shoot.” Chaeyoung changed positions on the couch, getting more comfortable. She could feel like something big was about to be revealed to her.

“I’ve decided to move on from Nayeon.”

Chaeyoung froze. She was joking, right? Momo did suffer because of the older girl but they had gone such a long way from Momo gushing about a crush to them actually kissing.

“W- what?”

“It’s just been too long and little to nothing has happened. And when something did happen she just shut down. I’m so tired of being sad about this, Chaengie. So I’ve made the decision of ignoring her tomorrow at Mina’s, give her a little taste of her own medicine, and then… move on I guess. What do you think?”

Chaeyoung opened and closed her mouth multiple times, trying to think of something to say. Her thought process was scrambled. In one hand, she supported Momo’s decision, moving on from a frustrated attempt of relationship was very good for her. In the other, all she wanted to see was for the couple to be happy, in other words, she shipped her and Nayeon, and she hated herself for it, she felt so selfish.

“If that’s what you truly want, Momo, I support it. I want to see you happy.”

“Thank you, Chaengie. But I asked for your opinion. What do you truly think?”

“Momo, I- It’s just that, I don’t know, you really like her and she clearly likes you back, I think she just needed time to work through her own shit. After that kiss I thought that there was hope for her to finally open up with you. But again, you are truly tired of everything, I understand; but if I were you I would at least talk to her about it, you know?”

Momo nodded before speaking. “Yeah, I had a feeling you would say something like that.” She sighed. “I want to talk to her about it, but I also feel like it would lead nowhere. Tell you what, if she gives me an opening I’ll talk to her and maybe, just maybe, give her another chance.”

“You don’t have to give another chance if you don’t want to, Momo. I’m just saying that maybe you should talk to her about everything before making a decision.”

“I’ll try, Chaeyoung. And you know I’ll always want to give her another chance, right? At this point I think it’s in my DNA.”

They both chuckled a little sadly.

“Yeah, I know how that feels.” Chaeyoung murmured.

They remained silent for a few moments, each with their thoughts – about their respective love interests.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Sana called me out on being weird with Mina and I think I’ll talk to her at the party too. Try to fix this friendship, even if I don’t know what broke it.”

“Momo, that’s great! I was going to ask you about it, but since you were already busy with Nayeon I didn’t say anything.”

“I guess you did good, I don’t think I could’ve handled you scolding me for two situations.”

“Hey! I don’t scold! Not all the time, I think.”

“Yes, you do.” Momo stuck her tongue out, mocking the younger girl.

Chaeyoung calmly got up from her seat, put her mug down on the center table and started throwing pillows at Momo frantically.

They both ran around the room, having an impromptu pillow fight. They only stopped when Momo started sneezing and itching her nose.

//

“Dang, Myoui, I sometimes forget how rich you are.”

The Japanese girl giggled nervously, hiding her moth behind her hand.

“You know I don’t like to talk about that… But, yes, it’s one of the perks of accepting that job in your father’s company that you simply hate.”

“You hate the job or the company?”

“Both, Jeong, both.”

They laughed.

Jeongyeon arrived earlier than everyone else did because she quickly finished her work and decided to help Mina organize the place, since it was a big house. Although, she was sure that the girl had enough money to hire people to clean.

She looked around the place, everything spot on clean; she was impressed. Maybe Mina did hire cleaners.

“Well, I guess you don’t need my help to tidy up.”

“I had a lot of free time last night and today. Also, I used your tips on the counters, it was really helpful.”

“You cleaned it up? I’m so proud, Myoui. My little clean freak pupil.” Jeongyeon squished Mina’s face.

“Yah!” The younger girl whined as she freed herself from Jeongyeon’s hands. “It’s just relaxing, I think, to be in control and clean things up, I don’t know.”

“I get you.” They both sat down on the couch facing each other. “So, how are you feeling?”

It had been a while since they had a heartfelt and honest conversation; Jeongyeon liked having those with Mina, as she was very sincere when she wanted to.

“Well… I don’t know, actually.” Mina’s face contorted into a hurtful expression, but quickly went back to normal. She was good at pretending, Jeongyeon reminded. “It’s just been very quiet lately. Like, I only talk to human beings when I go out with you guys; at work I barely say hi to people. But I suppose that it’s only it, you know? Nothing much going on.” Mina laughed weakly.

Jeongyeon knew something was going on deeper down, but didn’t push, she knew that with Mina she had to be a little more delicate than usual, per se. She was used with scolding Nayeon and Jihyo, but it was different with the Japanese girl.

“Well, if that’s the only thing wrong, we’ll talk a lot tonight, ok? Oh, and if you feel lonely at work you can text me and we can chat.”

“Thanks, Jeong, I appreciate it.”

“Well,” said Jeongyeon as she got up, clapping her hands. “Let’s get this party started!”

“But there’s no one here, Jeong.” Mina said laughing a little.

“I’m offended, Myoui. I’m here. You’re here. Let’s have some fun.”

Mina rolled her eyes, giggling, and took the hand the older girl was offering her.

//

It wasn’t Momo’s fault she was late, she blamed it on what Sana liked to call as “Sleep Goblin”; it was kind of like this entity took over her body and didn’t allow her to wake up, especially from naps.

She got to Mina’s place panting from all the running she did to get there as soon as possible.

“Am I too late? Did I miss the action?” Momo asked, desperate, looking behind Mina to see her friends.

“No, don’t worry, Momo!” Mina answered giggly. “We just got started.”

“We were waiting for you, Momoring!” Sana shouted when she saw her at the door.

Momo calmed down a little. She wanted to arrive earlier so she could talk to Mina a little more privately, but it was fine, she thought, at least she could still have fun with her friends.

“Jihyo, I’ll need my roommate back, she was my alarm clock.”

“How about you have her on week days and I have her on the weekends?” Jihyo played along.

“Yah, don’t fight over me like a divorced couple. Momo, you can hang out at Jihyo and Nayeon’s place too and-” Sana stopped on her tracks when absolutely everyone in the room widened their eyes, giving Sana the biggest of Looks™ and then directing their gaze to Momo and Nayeon.

Momo mentally cursed her best friend, who nervously joked and changed the subject.

Like always, the night wasn’t going to go as planned.

Momo wondered why she even tried anymore.

//

Chaeyoung was surprised by the lack of the drama. Her friends finally just acted like friends and had fun. The only tension in during the party was between Momo and Nayeon, but that was expected after the incident the week prior. Things were going smoothly, but Chaeyoung just noticed something odd between Sana, Dahyun and Jihyo. Not necessarily bad, just weird.

“Hey, Tzuyu, is it just me or are those three acting weird?” Chaeyoung asked her best friend when they were alone in a corner on the rooftop, watching their friends’ shenanigans. She nodded towards the girls in question discreetly.

Tzuyu hummed pensively, analyzing the girls. “They seem closer, right? Do you think they talked about stuff?”

“Dubu didn’t tell me anything. Unless she’s keeping this from us.”

“Unlikely.”

“Very unlikely. So, I’m not crazy for thinking that they are shamelessly flirting with each other?”

Jihyo had just hugged Dahyun from behind, snuggling closer and laughing. The younger girl acted shocked and teased her, Sana close behind smiling and gazing softly to both of them.

“No, you’re not crazy. They are indeed flirting.”

They watched and talked keeping a straight face to not reveal anything or act suspicious in front of their friends. An investigation had started under wraps by the two younger girls.

“Tell you what, we’ll keep an eye on them and if things get too far, to the extent that Dubu might get hurt, we’ll intervene.” Chaeyoung’s tone was certain.

Tzuyu gave her a side eye, thinking about the suggestion. “Chaengie… Ok, sure. I won’t do anything but I’ll keep an eye, I guess.”

“Thank you, Tzuyu.”

She knew how good Tzuyu was at reading people, combining their skills and intuition was crucial for Chaeyoung. She needed to get to the bottom of this, whatever it was. The night was going well and she intended on keeping that way for all the nights to come, so if that meant she had to meddle a little and make things happen faster, hell, she would.

//

Momo was getting desperate once again, but it could also be the effect of the booze and whatever Jeongyeon gave her to smoke. She couldn’t stop picking on her nails and trying to track Mina down. She had to talk to her, but the girl was very slippery, always saying something like “sorry, Sana just broke another vase” – Momo didn’t need to ask twice if it was true.

When she finally found any opportunity to approach the younger girl, Nayeon would suddenly be by her side, saying something about having to talk – Momo didn’t really pay attention to what she said, she was more worried about Mina.

“Nayeon- Not now, ok?” She said impatiently, starting to walk towards Mina.

Nayeon stopped her plans, grabbing her wrist and making her turn around.

“It has to be now, Momo. I can’t wait any longer.”

“You’re the one waiting? Nayeon, I’ve waited for you for years! Years, godammit!” She raised her voice on the last words.

“I know, Momo, and I’m trying to fix things now, I-”

“No, Nayeon. I made my decision years ago, I’m tired of waiting for you to make one. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Momo didn’t even give Nayeon a second glance before strutting over to Mina.

_For fuck’s sake._

The girl she had to talk to was now very busy excitedly listening to Chaeyoung. She looked around to see if Sana was available to listen to Momo’s complaints, but no, her best friend was flirting with Dahyun alongside with her girlfriend.

Momo sighed and ran to the bathroom downstairs, she couldn’t stand in the rooftop any longer knowing Nayeon was watching her. She couldn’t take it anymore, she just needed some time and someone. Unfortunately, Momo only had herself and her reflection on the mirror.

“Good one, Hirai. The girl of your dreams finally wants to talk to you like you always wished and you blew it. Great. You suck.”

She stared at her reflection, but couldn’t maintain eye contact, she felt judged. She supported herself with both arms on the sink and let her head fall down, staring at the floor.

Once Sana wasn’t too horny she was going to tell – more like cry – her everything and ask for urgent help, she needed it.

//

Yes, maybe Chaeyoung was eavesdropping Sana and Mina’s conversation. In her defense they weren’t talking about anything she didn’t know. Sana had finally gotten her hands away from her best friend and she also told Mina to tell Sana Dahyun wanted to talk to her downstairs – a lie, it wasn’t Dahyun it was Chaeyoung herself.

“Ok, I’ll meet her then, thanks Minari. Oh, did Momo perhaps talk to you?”

“Um, I mean, she did, but not about anything in specific. I did notice she tried to talk to me in private… I’m sorry, I’ve just been so busy taking care of everyone and making sure my house is not set on fire.”

“Ah, it’s ok, Mina. Just make sure you guys talk tonight, ok?”

“Sure thing, Satang. I’ll go fetch more cups and be right back.”

Chaeyoung stopped listening. She needed to talk to Momo later for an update on Mina and Nayeon, she had almost forgotten about both situations, too focused on Sana playing with Dahyun’s heart.

She quickly ran downstairs, waiting for Sana in a secluded room.

“Dahyunnie? Oh, Chaeyoung. Hi. I thought Dahyun would be here?” 

“Yeah, I told Mina to tell you that. It’s actually me that wants to talk to you.” 

“Oh, ok, I guess.” Sana’s eyes went side to side, trying to make sense of the situation. “What’s up?” 

“What do you want with Dahyun?” Chaeyoung kept the straight face, but her tone gave away how angry she was, with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She was sure her jaw would pop from how tense they were. 

“What- what do you mean?” Sana’s nerves were evident. 

“You know what I mean. You keep playing these games with her – you and Jihyo. So cut the crap. What are your intentions with Dahyun?” 

Chaeyoung knew she was being excessively protective and probably crossing a line, but she didn’t care at that point. 

“I- Chaeyoung…” Sana sighed and her head fell in defeat. She proceeded to run her hands through her hair in frustration. “I’m trying to think of a way to phrase this since I don’t even know what the fuck’s going on anymore.” 

The younger girl relaxed a little, unclenching her jaw and changing the weight on her feet. She patiently waited for Sana to speak. 

She didn’t expect the Japanese girl to start tearing up. Chaeyoung almost lost her stance – almost. She had a job to do. 

“Chaengie… I know that you of all people know how love is a complicated thing and it’s… so scary. I’m glad to know that Dahyun is in good hands with a friend like you, though.” Sana wiped a couple of tears before continuing. “The thing is… well, there’s no other way to say it than just fucking saying it, so… I like Dahyun the same way I like Jihyo and I want to date both. Those are my intentions.” Sana’s deflated body became a proud one, her chest puffing out a little, reaffirming herself.

“Oh.” Chaeyoung kind of expected Sana having feelings for both, but she thought they were merely physical attraction.

“Yeah, _oh_.” The older one laughed weakly. “It was already hard enough to tell Jihyo about it, imagine telling Dubu. I just- I just need some time, Chaeng. I understand and appreciate you being worried about the whole thing, I really do. And I’m sorry if it passes out as if I’m playing with her or something, I’m just trying to figure shit out, you know? Jihyo too.” 

“It’s ok, Sana. I think I crossed a line here, I’m sorry.” Chaeyoung’s head dropped and she awkwardly played with her feet, kicking something nonexistent on the floor, trying to distract herself. 

“Hey, you did the right thing. I should not have been acting this way without figuring my feelings out. I really am the one to blame here.”

“I guess we’re both fuck ups who don’t know how to control their feelings, eh?” 

Sana laughed and the mood was lighter.

“I guess so.”

“So… How does Jihyo feel about all of this?”

“At first she was a little taken aback, but after some time to think she was actually very supportive, which surprised me. We agreed on maybe trying something out, you know, the three of us, if Dahyun agrees with it.”

“Well, you have to actually talk to Dahyun for that.”

“I know… We know. And we will, trust me.”

“Ok, I’ll leave you alone.” Chaeyoung smiled, seeing sincerity irradiating from Sana, it was so pure and lovely. “But consider this a warning! Next time I won’t be so forgiving!” She joked, pointing a finger towards Sana.

“Yes, ma’am. Just… don’t tell Dahyun or anyone about this?”

Chaeyoung nodded before Sana smiled and went back to the party. The thought of Sana not wanting anyone to know and the fact that Chaeyoung just _did that_ made her stomach turn. She was trying to be a good friend, but was she? She questioned if she was a good person or even sane after the whole show she put up, playing detective, creeping around Sana… She felt sick. Chaeyoung didn’t know who she was anymore, she took her morals and threw it out the window for some selfish desire to see everyone happy. What she just did, though, could potentially hurt everybody around her. 

She was just like her parents with the beat excuse of wanting what was best. She didn’t know what was best for Dahyun, or Sana or Momo. 

Chaeyoung fucked up. Big time. And there was nothing she could’ve done at the moment but wait to see how things were going to play out – and to stop meddling. 

// 

Momo didn’t even know how she survived to most of the party without breaking down crying. 

She found herself at the stairs outside of Mina’s front door, enjoying the cool air of the night; she could still hear the music coming from the roof. Momo considered going to ask Jeongyeon for a cigarette, she knew the older girl still had some on herself even after – allegedly – quitting smoking. She decided not to, she was too comfortable sitting on the steps and didn’t dare move. 

She only made a movement when she heard steps coming from the living room and the eventual front door opening. 

“Hey, Momo.” Nayeon spoke softly after closing the door behind her. 

Momo turned her body back to face the street, ignoring the girl. Nayeon still didn’t give up, sitting down next to the Japanese girl. 

They kept silence for a few moments, until Nayeon turned her head towards the younger girl, staring at her face. Momo noticed it in her peripheral view; she rolled her eyes, knowing the older girl was trying not to speak. 

“What?” Momo spoke in an impatient tone, turning her gaze to Nayeon. 

“Can we talk now?” Nayeon’s weak and hesitant voice almost made Momo give in.

She held strongly, though, and didn’t say a word, she only nodded and turned her gaze to the ground.

“Ok, I’ll take that as you listening to me.” Nayeon sighed before continuing. “I want to start off with an apology for all that I put you through. It was shitty leaving you in the dark and playing with your feelings, and there’s no excuse for that. There are reasons, but they don’t excuse all the harm I brought you, and I can’t imagine how much it hurt. It hurt me too, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not the victim here.”

That caught Momo’s attention. She finally looked back at the older girl, brows furrowed, expectant of what she was going to say next.

Nayeon sighed once again. She looked up, probably regaining strength or trying not to cry before speaking again.

“Momo I- I like you. I think that at this point it’s more like head over heels, fallen too deep, I- I love you, Momo. And I feel like the worst human being for all that I did, or didn’t do, I guess.”

“Why?” Momo’s voice was small and hoarse, but Nayeon still flinched when she heard it. “Why now?”

“Why did I take so long? I guess, well, first of all, because I’m stupid, second is because I couldn’t handle my feelings, so I repressed them. Jeongyeon says it’s because of my parents, but I don’t know, you’re not my mom, you know? Like, why am I acting this way?”

“I think it makes sense,” spoke Momo unexpectedly. “You never told me in details what your household was like, but from what you’ve commented, you couldn’t really express your feelings.”

“Yeah, exactly. I was strongly reprehended for merely speaking when I wasn’t ‘supposed to’, maybe it damaged me in some way, I don’t know. Anyway, it still doesn’t excuse the pain I put you through. Jeongyeon would always tell me to do something before I hurt you even more and I always knew what I should’ve done but it’s like there was something blocking me. I don’t know how to explain this, Momoring, I’m giving my best to express how I feel right now.

“I only was like ‘ok I’m going to do this, I’m going to talk to her’ once realization hit me. My fears shouldn’t affect other people, and it was affecting you and who the hell else. I always knew it, but it’s one of those cases of not following your own advice because you don’t think it applies to you, you know? After I talked to Jeong and Jihyo a little about our kiss that night, and after some thought, it clicked to me. I’m sorry if none of this makes sense, I’m doing my best here.”

“It’s ok, Nayeon, I understand how you feel. It feels so simple when you tell someone to get their shit together and communicate, but when people tell you the same thing it’s scary. We just need one moment of bravery, and I believe this yours.”

“Yeah, I guess it is. I’m sorry I took so long. It’s hard to know how you feel when you were never allowed to have emotions and opinions.”

“Is that why you’re so loud? You’re trying to make up for all those years of silence?”

“I guess so.” Nayeon chuckled.

"Oh, and you're not damaged. Everyone has a tough spot, nobody is perfect, ok?"

“Thanks, Momo." Her gaze was soft. "Anyways, also important to let you know I’m starting therapy. You’re the first on I tell this and I want to break the news to everyone else later, it’s still a big deal for me.”

“Don’t worry, Nayeon, I won’t tell anyone. Sana, maybe.” Momo joked, receiving a light push from the other girl as punishment.

They both laughed, the mood suddenly lighter.

“So… do you forgive me?” Nayeon asked with hopeful eyes after a moment.

Momo sighed, contemplating. She thought back on Chaeyoung’s words about still having hope and not giving up.

“Here’s the thing, Nayeon. I waited for you, I tried to be with you the best way I could without pushing your boundaries, I did so many things for you and you didn’t give two shits about it. I understand now that maybe you did care but didn’t act on it, from all that you just told me, but fuck… I’m tired, you know?”

Nayeon’s head faltered, Momo could see the ghost of a tear trailing down her face. The older girl nodded sadly. The scene hurt Momo’s heart.

“I understand, Momo. I’ll let-”

Momo hated how much she loved the girl, hated that she was about to give in once more. This time, though, felt different. She knew what she was getting herself into and, most importantly, Nayeon knew too. She groaned mentally.

She interrupted Nayeon midsentence. “But, if you promise me you’ll talk to me about everything, even if it’s to tell me you don’t want to talk, I’ll give you one last chance. I don’t care if along the way you realize you don’t want me anymore, as long as you tell me.”

Nayeon immediately cheered up and her miserable tear turned into a happy one. With the biggest smile on her face, she pulled Momo into a tight embrace.

“I promise, I promise, I promise, I promise.” Nayeon repeated frantically into the younger girl’s ear. “I hope one day you can forgive me, and I promise this time will be different. This time I know how much I care about you and that I need you in my life. I promise.” She said when she pulled back.

Momo brushed a strand of Nayeon’s hair behind her ear and smiled softly. 

“Silly, I think it’s impossible not to forgive you every time. I told Chaeyoung it’s in my DNA now to give second and third chances.”

“You’re cute. But you also have to promise me that you’ll call me out and tell me when I mess up, ok? And I’ll do the same.”

Momo was finally processing that she was indeed giving Nayeon another chance and that said girl took it. They were going to finally be together. The shitty night she was having suddenly took a turn, and it was only going to get better. Momo’s smile grew bigger every second she thought about her and Nayeon together. 

“Stop smiling and kiss me, you pabo.” Nayeon teased, with a smile even bigger splattered on her face.

They laughed shortly and connected their lips. This time their kiss was slower, more exploring, but still full of feelings and passion. They had all the time in the world.

\--

“Hey, Sana mentioned you wanted to talk to me?”

Momo and Nayeon were helping Mina clean up the kitchen, they were the last two guests.

“Oh, yeah. But we can do that tomorrow, if that’s ok?” Momo glanced over to Nayeon. Mina got the message and giggled.

“No problem, Momoring. I’m tired too, let’s get some rest, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Momo had the dumbest smile after she heard her favorite nickname.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to sleep over here? I bet there’s like six spare bedrooms in this house.” Nayeon said.

“No, don’t worry, you guys can go and have some fun the two of you.”

“Sure? Won’t it get lonely?” the older girl asked just in case.

“I’m sure.”

Mina never answered the last question, but they settled with her smile.

“Ok, then. We’ll be on our way. Text us if you need anything, ok?”

Momo loved the how Nayeon cared, she found it sexy. Maybe it was because the girl didn’t show how much she cared about her until that moment. 

\--

They left Mina’s place and as soon as they reached Momo’s apartment door, she got a call from Sana.

“Sana?”

_“Momo? Are you busy right now?”_ Sana’s voice sounded troubled, Momo got worried.

“Um… I don’t know. What’s up?” 

_“I’m just sad. Something happened at Mina’s, I wanted to talk to someone before I talk to Jihyo about it.”_

“Wait, where are you?” 

_“I just left Ji’s, I’m waiting for my ride outside. I’ll be home in fifteen.”_

_Shit._

“Ok, Sana, I’ll make us some tea. Share the ride with me so I can call the police if they decide to kidnap you.” 

_“Ok, bye.”_

Momo hung up the phone and looked at Nayeon with apologetic eyes.

“Sana needs me. Can we continue this another time?”

“Of course, Moguri.” Nayeon put a hand on Momo’s shoulder. “Go on and be a good friend, ok? I can wait.”

They shared a quick kiss.

“Thanks, Nayeonnie. I’ll pay for your ride.”

\--

And just like that, everyone was back at their respective apartment with their respective roommate. Sana was crying on her lap and she imagined what Nayeon was telling Jihyo.

“And I don’t know what to think anymore. I know Chaeyoung is right and I understand that she wants to protect Dahyun, but I- It’s too much for me right now.” Sana finished her rambling.

“Look, Sana. I don’t really like what Chaeyoung did and how she reacted to everything, but then again, she didn’t know what was going on. Still, it wasn’t her place. If Dahyun was hurting and felt bad around you and Jihyo she would say something to Chaengie if she wanted to. If you want, I can talk to her about this.”

“No, no. I don’t really care about it anymore. I’ll talk to her eventually. I’m more worried about me and Dahyun and Jihyo. I think I’ll just have to do what you and Chaeyoung have been telling me: suck up and talk to her.”

“I guess so, but take your time. Jiyho too. Is she really ok with everything?”

“I mean, she says so. But I’ve noticed that she sometimes get a little distant, I think she’s just getting used to everything. Don’t worry, we are talking a lot about everything and I’ll tell her about tonight’s incident. I needed to let off some steam before talking to her, you know?”

“Of course, Satang. I’m always here if you want to talk about anything, you know that.”

“Same goes for you, Momoring.” They hugged for a moment. “Oh, did you talk to Mina? Forgot to ask you earlier.”

“Kind of. We talked about talking another time, I had my hands full already.” 

Sana drew her body further away, making a shocked face. “Nayeon?” She squealed when Momo nodded. “Oh my God, finally!”

“Yeah, but this time is for good. We actually talked about our feelings and stuff.”

“I’m so happy for you, Momoring!” She embraced Momo again, screaming a little onto her ear.

//

It was too late in the night. Jeongyeon didn’t know exactly the time, but she knew she should’ve been sleeping just like everyone else, and not get woken up by her loud phone ringing.

Chaeyoung’s contact name showed up on her screen. The last thing she knew about her friends was that everyone was at their apartments, including the now multiple couples, and that they were sleeping. Why the hell was Chaeyoung calling her? 

_“Jeongyeon?”_ She didn’t even wait for the older girl to greet or anything. _“I’m sorry for calling you like this, but… Mina, she-”_ Chaeyoung could barely make any sense, talking fast and panting in between words. 

Jeongyeon protective instincts immediately kicked in. She sat up on the bed and started putting on her shoes. 

“Chaeyoung, I need you to calm down. What happened?”

She could her the younger girl taking deep breaths on the line.

_“I’m at the hospital with Mina. She drank too much after everyone left and had a panic attack, a big one.”_

_Fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took me waaay too long to write


	11. overthought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of anxiety, panic attacks, suicide, hospitals.
> 
> things finally work out! or do they?
> 
> jeongyeon finds out about stuff, jihyo decides things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!! sorry about disappearing, summer break ended and life went back to normal, you know, university kicking my butt. now we're all social distancing (i hope) i have some spare time :))

Chaeyoung hated hospitals. The sounds of squeaky wheelchairs, nurses’ low voices and the old TV in the corner with the volume barely there, it all felt eerie to her. Maybe it all reminded her of that time her brother fell off a tree and her eight years old self thought he was going to die – he only broke an arm.

Her head was being held by her own hands, her eyes tightly shut and she had the biggest headache in the world. She was worried, to say the least. It had been way too long since Mina had such a big panic attack; from what they talked over the years, it was mostly brief anxiety moments in stressful situations. At that moment, Chaeyoung was also getting anxious.

“For fuck’s sake, Mina…” Chaeyoung breathed.

“What do you mean we can’t see her?” Jeongyeon’s voice could be heard across the room.

“Jeong…” Nayeon held her arms, trying to calm her down. It seemed to work a little.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry. She is under observation and we can’t let visitors in without the physician’s-” The receptionist explained what seemed like the nth time.

Jeongyeon didn’t even hear the end of the sentence, just sighed and walked away. Nayeon, Momo and Sana close behind.

Chaeyoung waved at them once the girls noticed her.

“How are you holding up, Chaengie?” Momo asked, already clinging to her side.

“I’m worried, but I know it’ll all be ok in the end, you know?”

The girls nodded with softness in their eyes. Momo noticed Chaeyoung’s bitten nails and interlaced their fingers together, Sana doing the same with her other hand.

“Of course it will. Mina is a fighter, she’ll be fine.” Jeongyeon said, calmer than before.

“Yeah, she’s in good hands.” Nayeon added.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, I mean, have you looked at us? We’re a mess,” said Sana, jokingly.

“Yah! What are you trying to say, Sana?” the older Japanese girl whined, pretending to be offended.

They all bantered for a while, making everyone laugh and bringing the mood up a little. Chaeyoung almost forgot about how much she hated hospitals.

“Jesus Christ, please don’t get in a fight in the hospital.” Jihyo said once she arrived.

“Well, if they do, at least we’re already in a hospital,” added Tzuyu.

Jeongyeon had texted the group chat and asked Nayeon and Jihyo to give separate rides. The older one would bring Jeongyeon, Sana and Momo, and the younger one would give a ride to Tzuyu and Dahyun.

It didn’t take long for a nurse to show up and say Mina was fine, they just didn’t want to risk overwhelming her with visitors until they were sure she was stable. They still recommended a maximum of two people a time.

They all looked at Chaeyoung before saying anything. The shorter girl was surprised and confused.

“What?” She asked, her eyes big and going from face to face.

“Do you want to go in first?” Jihyo asked gently.

“By myself?”

“Yeah, you were the one that helped her, it’d be good for her to talk to you.” Jeongyeon spoke.

“Ok, I guess.”

Chaeyoung still failed to understand the reasoning, but she didn’t mind seeing Mina in private. She desperately needed to know if she was ok.

She lightly knocked on the door before calling the girl’s name.

“Mina?”

“Chaengie, come in.” Mina’s voice was a little hoarse, but she already had a smile on her face.

Chaeyoung sat down next to the hospital bed.

“How are you doing?”

“I’m fine now, don’t worry. It was very scary though, I really thought I would die. Well, just like every time I have a panic attack, I guess.”

The younger girl’s chest hurt by only imagining Mina going through that.

“Mina-ya…” Chaeyoung lightly grabbed her arm and ran her hand up and down, caressing it.

“It’s all good, Chaengie. I’ll get through this again, ok? I’m just embarrassed because I know everyone is waiting to see me with those apologetic eyes, but it’s so silly to go to the hospital for this, you know? It’s not like I’m actually sick or anything.”

“It’s not silly, Mina. It’s a real and scary thing and we all got worried because we all love you. It is a real health issue so don’t feel guilty about anything. And no need to be embarrassed.”

Chaeyoung could see hints of tears about to float down Mina’s eyes, but they never did. She wasn’t sure they were happy or sad tears, but it still felt good to know her words still held weight for Mina.

“Thank you, Chaeyoungie, for always being there for me. Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve it, but I still appreciate it.”

“You definitely deserve it, don’t worry.”

Chaeyoung had a big smile on her face and she felt dumb for it, still in love with her ex-girlfriend. She tried to stop caring about it and just support her friend who was in need.

//

“Jeong? I kind of need to tell you something.” Tzuyu said suddenly.

Jeongyeon had gotten up to get a cup of coffee on the vending machine because, well, it was almost four in the morning.

“Oh, hey Tzuyu. What do you want to talk about?”

“I wasn’t going to say anything, but I don’t think I can keep it in any longer. I know it’s not the best timing, but…” Tzuyu looked conflicted.

“It’s ok, you can just say it if you feel you need to, I-”

Jeongyeon got interrupted by Tzuyu’s stream of rambling.

“Chaeyoung got like super overprotective over Dahyun and thought Sana was playing with her feelings even though she’s dating Jihyo, and, well, I guess they are polyamorous now. Anyway, Chaeyoung decided to meddle into their love life and basically told Sana to back off, but I guess they talked and now it’s fine? I don’t know, she didn’t give me too much details. I just felt bad because I don’t think it’s right for Chaengie to go on about other people’s love life, but I also don’t think that what Sana and Jihyo are doing is right either. It was only a matter of time until something happened, but I preferred if it was something that the people involved in the relationship did, and not Chaeyoung.”

Jeongyeon was stunned by the velocity Tzuyu spoke and the amount of information shed. She blinked rapidly, trying to process everything.

“Wait, wait. Chaeyoung what? And Sana and Jihyo are what now? What the fuck, Tzuyu?”

“I know it’s a lot, but you’re the only one I trust to be responsible and sensible with everything.”

And just like that, the Taiwanese girl left a very dumbfounded Jeongyeon.

She didn’t know exactly what the hell was going on, but she knew that Chaeyoung needed to hear some words from her.

//

“Mina!” Sana almost yelled once she saw her best friend and jumped on top of her on the bed.

Their laughter died down after Momo and Mina’s visual contact got a little more intense, the tension palpable.

“Hey,” said Momo awkwardly, a hand rubbing the back of her neck.

“Hey,” answered Mina with a kind smile.

“Are you feeling any better?”

“Yes, I am. Thank you, Momoring.”

Momo’s eyes threatened to spill tears after hearing her pet name. She joined their friends on the bed, almost crushing Mina.

“Does that mean you guys are back to being friends and are done being weird?” Sana asked.

“Yes, Sana.” Both girls said in unison.

They all laughed and couldn’t stop smiling.

Words weren’t needed in the moment, Momo knew that her emotions were clear, and it seemed Mina was able to translate and forgive her. Momo forgave her too, both Mina and herself. Things were finally looking up; her friend was feeling better from a panic attack – something they all still had to work on and help – she finally got to be with Nayeon, also known as the girl of her dreams. Life felt good in those few seconds they spent lying down with Mina on a hospital bed.

//

Jeongyeon and Tzuyu were the last ones to go see Mina. The Taiwanese girl did most of the talking since Jeongyeon was still processing some information.

She was still her own protective and motherly self, asking Mina over and over again if she was ok and if she needed anything. Both younger girls reassured her she was fine and everything would be ok.

“Ok, one last question,” spoke Jeongyeon after being teased again. “It might be a bad one, but… What happened? You know, after the party?”

Mina sighed before talking.

“It was kind of a slippery slope. I was a little stressed out from hosting a party and, you know me, I’m like a perfectionist and get nervous over anything, so I decided to cool down by drinking some wine and accidentally got a little… wasted. Well, after that I overthought everything and…”

She paused, and tears started streaming down her face. Jeongyeon and Tzuyu were quickly by her side, caressing her arms and calming her.

“It’s ok, Mina, you don’t have to talk about this now.” Tzuyu said.

“I know, I know… I want to talk about this. Don’t worry, it just hurts a little still.” She dried her eyes off and continued. “This might be painful to hear, but it’s the truth. A lot was weighing me down, not only tonight, but for a long time. I- I’m thankful I had a panic attack and I’m so thankful Chaeyoung found me before I could…” She trailed off again.

“What do you mean?” Jeongyeon was naively confused by what she meant with being thankful for her panic attack. Tzuyu, though, seemed to already have picked up on what their Japanese friend meant and was also tearing up.

“What I mean is: if I hadn’t had a panic attack I might’ve been able to commit suicide, Jeongyeon.” Mina’s voice was harsh and cold.

Mina was right, it was painful to hear. Jeongyeon felt a pang in her chest. She lowered her head, a tear scrolling down.

“Mina…”

“I know, I know. I’m better already and don’t want to die anymore, you guys don’t have to worry about it.”

“Of course we worry, Mina-ya.” Tzuyu spoke while squeezing her hand.

Jeongyeon joined, forming a small circle of held hands and hopeful smiles.

“We love you, Mina. And never forget that the world is a better place with you in it. Please, _please_ , talk to us if you need anything, ok? We’re always here to listen.”

“Thank you, Jeong. I love you guys, too.”

//

It had been a couple of days since Mina had gotten off the hospital. The Japanese girl was staying at Momo and Sana’s apartment; the girls got scared she would relapse if she stayed in her place by herself.

They reunited at Chaeyoung’s place because Jihyo had an idea last minute and wanted to discuss it with everyone.

“Ok, Ji, what was your grand idea?” Nayeon asked after filling her moth with popcorn.

“It’s not that grand, per se, dear, but I do think it’s a good idea.” She clapped her hands before continuing. “So, you guys know Mina has been staying at Momo and Sana’s, and you know that they barely have any space for her to live comfortably. And, so, I thought, maybe, Mina could stay with either Jeongyeon or Chaeyoung! Since they live alone and have more spare space, and stuff.”

“Why are we talking about Mina like she was a stray dog?” Dahyun joked.

“I can make some space for Mina, Ji,” spoke Jeongyeon. She turned to Mina: “That is, if you want to be my roommate.”

“Oh, it would be my pleasure, Jeong.” Mina smiled brightly.

“Well, then. I guess it’s settled.” Jihyo said before sitting back down.

Chaeyoung didn’t even get the chance to say anything, but felt it was for the best. Rationally, it wouldn’t be the best idea to live with your ex-girlfriend and whom you still had feelings for. It still hurt a little, though. She hated being jealous at random times like these. The glare Jeongyeon was shooting her also didn’t help.

They had a relaxing evening, watching movies and ending Chaeyoung’s popcorn stock, just like the old days. It would’ve felt good if only Chaeyoung wasn't anxious and worried because of Jeongyeon. She couldn’t quite place what exactly it was, but she had a bad feeling.

Although, she was indeed happy that things worked out with Momo. In one arm she held Nayeon’s body and in the other Mina’s. Everything was back into place or how it should have been all along.

Little by little, all the guests left her place, with the exception of Jeongyeon.

_Of course_ , Chaeyoung thought.

“Hey, Chaengie, can I have a word with you?”

“Yes, sure!” Chaeyoung tried to answer chirpily. She was nowhere near happy, Jeongyeon’s crossed arms and body language scared her.

“Tzuyu told me about you meddling into Sana’s love life. I’m being blunt about this just like she was to me. Unlike you were with Dahyun.”

Jeongyeon’s sudden word attack cut through Chaeyoung’s heart.

“Oh. I- I… Jeongyeon, I-”

“Please, don’t talk. Just listen to me, ok?” Jeongyeon continued after the younger girl nodded and swallowed dry. “I don’t want to dictate what you should and shouldn’t do, I’m not your mother and you are a big girl. But I honestly felt like saying something because apparently no one else will, not even Tzuyu. So, listen, I’m pretty sure you already know that what you did was wrong, and well, what is done is done, right? But, for fuck’s sake, you need a wake up call. You’re living in this fairy tale world where everything revolves around love and relationships, or soulmates or whatever fucking bullshit you live off of. That’s not the real world. Life is not only about romance or playing cupid, we have jobs, bills to pay, a friend in the goddamn hospital because she had a panic attack and almost killed herself. Wake the fuck up, Chaeyoung! When was the last time you genuinely asked someone how they were, just wanting to know what’s actually going through their minds besides their love life? When was the last time you actually gave some thought to something other than relationships, crushes, and all of this?

I’m not saying all of this because I’m mad at you – I mean, I did get a little angry with you meddling into other people’s relationships. I’m saying this because I’m worried about you, Chaengie. I love you, but, fuck, I’m really disappointed in you. You’re better than this, and seeing you get to this point, is bloody worrying. Please get your shit together, if not for yourself, for everyone else in the friend group. Goodbye, Chaeyoung.”

And just like that, Jeongyeon left her apartment, and left a dumbfounded Chaeyoung alone with her thoughts. 


	12. flashbacks: mina and chaeyoung (II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> is this the appropriate way to move on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i wasn't really gonna post a flashback now, but i have the biggest writer's block, so i wrote this to, y'know, write something, at least. 
> 
> it's short and bittersweet :))

_“You can’t just leave like that!”_

_“Yes, Dahyun, I can!”_

_Chaeyoung was yelling. She hated yelling, but the conversation was leading nowhere. Dahyun didn’t understand her, no one did; Tzuyu was the closest one to understand her. Chaeyoung herself didn’t know who she was anymore, she felt like a stranger to herself. And to Dahyun, too, apparently._

_“I want my Chaeyoung back.” Dahyun’s lips quivered._

_“Dahyunnie…” Tzuyu’s calm voice was finally heard in the room._

_“I am my own fucking Chaeyoung. I just need some… time! For fuck’s sake, I just need a break.” The shorter girl collapsed to the ground, crying with her head between her knees._

_She felt warm hands hugging her and light kisses on her head._

_“Breakups are never easy, I’m sorry.” Dahyun whispered, her voice cracking from the tears._

_Every time Chaeyoung closed her eyes, she could see the scene play out in front of her all over again._

“It’s not that I don’t love you anymore, Chaengie. It’s-”

“Are you going to ‘it’s me, not you’ at me?” The youger girl’s voice raised, indignation taking over her body.

“But it’s true, I-”

Chaeyoung interrupted the Japanese girl once again:

“Ok, Mina. I get it.” She sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "I agree that it’s not working out. We barely talk, we’ve both been too busy and, well… I guess shit happens and things don’t go how we want them to, right?”

The realization that they were breaking up finally hit Chaeyoung. A shudder ran through her spine. She held back the tears.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

They fell into a comfortable silence and sat side by side on the floor of Mina’s living room, both lost in their own thoughts.

“I don’t love myself. That’s what I was trying to say earlier.” Mina spoke suddenly.

That was when the tears at the edge of Chaeyoung’s eyes finally spilled. She felt so guilty for being so selfish and not considering that maybe the reason why things weren’t right between them was because things weren’t right with themselves.

“Mina, I- I’m so sorry.”

“It’s ok, Chaengie. Just know that I still love you, but I need to love and find myself before anything else.”

The Korean girl held Mina’s hands and squeezed them a little.

“I love you too. I hope you find love for yourself. And don’t worry, I won’t go anywhere.”

“Chaengie…” Mina timidly chuckled, her cheeks blushing. “Don’t wait for me, go live your life, ok?”

Chaeyoung nodded, but deep down she knew she would wait a life time for Mina.

_“It still hurts, you know? I still love her, but I know I need to let go and… stuff. It just hurts… so much.” Chaeyoung finally looked up, the tears slowly coming to a halt._

_“We know, we know…” Dahyun comforted her._

_“Just do what you’ve gotta do, friend.” Tzuyu said, bringing a smile to everyone._

_“And so I shall. Just please don’t try to stop me this time.”_

_“Ok, we’ll try. Where are you going to, anyway?” Dahyun asked once they got up from the ground._

_“I wasn’t thinking too big, maybe the beach. If I had money, I would go to the Caribbean’s or something. Guess I’ll have to settle down with a small road trip.”_

_“We’ll miss you.”_

_“It won’t be for that long, Tzuyu-yah, a week, tops. But I’ll miss you too.”_

_Time for herself was all she needed. To put her mind back on track and start the long and painful process of getting over Mina. The girl she thought was the love of her life, slipping through her fingers. She was right, though; they both needed time to learn to love themselves. It was for the better to pause things for the moment instead of dragging a relationship into the mess that were their mental health; it would be too immature and Chaeyoung was trying to grow up. It was the right decision, even though they loved each other._

_Still, she wished she were in a different timeline where things worked out and everything was golden, rainbows and sunshine._

_Seemed like she had to clean the mess up, like she always did._


	13. bigger picture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there's more to life than romance. 
> 
> chaeyoung remembers about her friends and we take a look into their lives and chaeng's thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, just so you know, this is just word vomit, idk. my brain is in confushion.

Chaeyoung was a singer. She wanted to be one since she was a kid. All the big talent shows and recruitment programs didn’t work out, so she decided to do it all herself. She found a great community of independent singers online and stayed there, making a name for herself. It was tiring, for sure, writing and producing your own songs, learning singing techniques by herself. But she did it, and she was thankful everyday for her luck and website’s algorithm.

She had two best friends from high school, Dahyun and Tzuyu. They both went to the same university and even lived together. The trio was united to the hip. Dahyun was studying to become a professional pianist in the city’s orchestra; Tzuyu was a film maker and photographer on her free time, she was the best student of her class, always with the highest grades.

It was hard for Chaeyoung at first, seeing both of her best friends going to college together, afraid she would be left out. It never happened. In fact, their friend group only expanded, and Chaeyoung felt as if she was the main reason. It was her that befriended Jeongyeon and indirectly made Dahyun and Sana meet.

Jeongyeon was also a film enthusiast and it’s still foggy how Chaeyoung ended up meeting her in the first place, but they were sure it happened in a café a few years ago. They made up a story, not certain if it was the truth, but it’s how they tell they met.

Chaeyoung got out of a final test in in high school one day, angry and frustrated because she could not care less about school. She decided to treat herself for coffee and cookies at the café near the campus, not even saying anything to her friends that were still taking the exam. The café was packed, nowhere to sit beside sharing a table with strangers; being too lazy to walk another block and go to a different place, Chaeyoung decided to sit with the most sympathetic stranger she found, which happened to be a struggling independent filmmaker trying to figure out how to edit videos in a foreign computer program. The high school student noticed Jeongyeon’s struggles and recognized the editor.

“You have to drag the mouse. Yes, like that. And then you click here, and here. See? Not that hard.”

“She didn’t even introduce herself! She just started teaching me out of nowhere!” Jeongyeon would complain when telling the story.

The older girl gave Chaeyoung her phone number and became friends quickly.

She then met Jihyo and Nayeon at a friend gathering Jeongyeon made – it consisted of the two girls plus Chaeyoung and her friends she promised to bring.

Jihyo was a frustrated singer, she never got the chance to make it in the industry – Chaeyoung thought Jihyo would hate her, or get jealous her singing career was working out, but the older girl was nothing but sweet and nice. It was in the same night, in fact, that Nayeon convinced Jihyo of joining her theater company and taking acting classes with her.

Jeongyeon, Jihyo and Nayeon used to play around, making “movies” on the weekend when they were kids. They used to play with sock puppets, but ever since Jeongyeon got a camera one Christmas, they evolved into acting. Jeongyeon always behind the camera, Nayeon and Jihyo were the stars. Of course the older one would always say she was the only protagonist, but Jihyo was also pretty good at it and enjoyed it as well. It wasn’t much of a difficult decision for her to change career paths and start acting alongside with her best friend. Besides, she got to do musicals and sing like she always loved.

Chaeyoung lost count of how many times the trio stood her up to watch musicals all night.

Dahyun met the Japanese girls. She was leaving one of the musical studios after practicing a Beethoven sonata; she heard loud laughter coming from the dance studio near her and, for some reason, felt compelled to check out what was going on – Sana insists it was destiny. She stumbled upon three gorgeous girls doing funny dances and speaking in Japanese, but instead of feeling as if she was interrupting something, the girls invited her in and became friends.

Chaeyoung laughs every time she imagines a flustered Dahyun babbling and being awkward.

When Mina found out she was a pianist she became very excited and they both planned to collaborate for a university project. Mina dancing ballet and Dahyun playing a hard piano piece. It never happened, though, because Mina was forced by her parents to change majors and work on their company.

It was at that point in which Chaeyoug and Mina started dating, and when Mina’s anxiety and mental health got worse. Nevertheless, it was also the beginning of a beautiful friendship between these nine weird and wonderful humans, brought together by chance.

Momo started her own dance studio and company with a friend from college and Sana’s modelling career took off, sometimes advertising her best friend’s business.

Chaeyoung loved them with all their heart; but her heart felt so empty from time to time. She was doing what she was passionate about, she had the most supporting and loving friends, but something was missing.

She would mostly feel this whenever she talked to her family or when she somehow had the same feeling as when she talked to her mother. That feeling of being ignored on purpose, of being left out and insignificant.

Every day that sensation would get better, but it would still comeback every now and then.

That was her theory on why she was so obsessed with love and finding a soulmate, not only for herself, but also for everybody else. She knew how much it sucked being alone, so she wanted her friends to be fine, so she put her soul onto that – also for a selfish reason of wanting to feel helpful and needed.

She had mommy issues, sure, but who didn’t? Everything was under control, so she didn’t feel the need to seek professional help. Tzuyu would bug her about it, but she did not listen.

Besides those little problems, Chaeyoung loved her life. She had a somewhat steady income, her name was getting bigger and new projects would always come along; her friends were also thriving. She should not feel this bad; she had the perfect life. If only she didn’t feel so lonely.

Chaeyoung was also tired. It was always her that planned everything, that hosted every party and get-together; it was always her reaching out to her friends when she noticed something was up; always her making every single fucking effort to make everything ok. And things were never one hundred percent ok.

She wanted to be like Jihyo. To be a natural leader and a good friend without driving herself to exhaustion. But if not Chaeyoung herself to do what was needed, then who?

She wished she could just simply _be_ and not worry about everything all the time.

Now, thinking about Joengyeon, she got worried about her love life again, being single for so long… She remembered about what the older girl had just told her and fogged the thought away.

God, she needed therapy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you liked it, anyway :))


	14. crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a jeongyeon based chapter. she reencouters someone from the past.

Jeongyeon wasn’t very fond of being invited to random birthday parties, by people she barely talked to but somehow remembered her existence and decided it was a good idea to invite her. This time she blamed Bona, who probably pitched the idea to… whoever was turning older. She didn’t remember at this point, a little drunk and broody at a bar she utterly hated.

She sighed and rolled her eyes one last time before she took a sip of pure scotch. The girls she didn’t know were screaming and laughing way too loud – in her defense, the rest of the establishment were uncomfortable too.

“Aw, come on, Jeong! Cheer up! Luda ordered another round of tequila shots, come drink with us.” A rather tipsy Bona said, clinging to Jeongyeon’s arms.

“Thanks, Bo. But I think I already had enough to drink. Besides, I doubt they even know my name.”

“Yah, Jeong! You’re no fun…” The girl stumbled a little on her way back to the party. Jeongyeon chuckled a little at the sight, taking a last gulp of her drink.

She decided to leave. The rest of the guests of the birthday gathering were inebriated enough that they wouldn’t notice her absence. A last look around the bar, to somehow say goodbye without speaking, and someone caught her eyes. Jeongyeon had an inkling she knew that person… Was that…?

“Seulgi?”

“Yoo Jeongyeon!” Seulgi half yelled across the bar.

What were the chances she would meet a former high school friend at a random bar? She did her best job to forget about those agonizing three years and for everyone else, except her friends, forget about her existence in that school. It felt a little weird seeing Seulgi’s face, even though she was still friends with Nayeon. She also recognized a couple other faces in the table.

“Hey! Long time no see!” Jeongyeon said, still incredulous, when she got to Seulgi’s table.

“Indeed, friend. How have you been? I always ask Nayeon about you guys, but we never really have time to catch up.”

“I’m ok, I guess. Running away from a birthday party.” She scratched the back of her head, the adrenaline of seeing her classmates running off and the awkwardness of the situation finally hitting her.

“Classic Jeongyeon.”

A shiver ran down Jeongyeon’s spine by hearing that voice. She could recognize that timbre anywhere, anytime. Sunmi had a smirk splattered, her head held by her hand, propped on the table by her elbow. She looked as stunning as ever. Jeongyeon forgot how to speak or breathe for a moment. When she went back to her senses, she cursed herself for still having this stupid crush on the older girl.

“Oh, hey, Sunmi. I- I didn’t see you there.”

“It’s good to see you, Jeongyeon”. Her smile still made Jeongyeon breathless.

Perhaps the tension between the two was perceptible. Because, after a slightly too long moment of silence – which neither Jeongyeon nor Sunmi realized –, Seulgi cleared her throat, breaking the spell the older girl held with her eyes.

“You know what, Yoo? I’ll add you to the group chat; it will be nice to hang out with you and catch up. I’ve been meaning to add Nayeon as well.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. Sounds good.”

It did sound good. Her current friend group was a mess and she was one minor inconvenience away from punching Chaeyoung. Hanging out with other seemed amazing for Jeongyeon.

“I’ll get your phone number with Im and we’ll chat, yeah?”

“Of course. Thanks, Seulgi. It was nice seeing you all. I should go now.”

Jeongyeon felt like her feet were off the ground when she left the bar. She had completely forgotten she was drunk, or maybe all of the effect from the alcohol wore off the second she made eye contact with Sunmi. God, she still made Jeongyeon her puppy without even trying. How long had it been? Five or six years? It felt like it was the day before Jeongyeon had seen, from the bleachers, Sunmi jumping and dancing on the football field. She still didn’t believe it, but that night she had sworn the older girl looked right into her eyes and smiled, but there was too much commotion, their football team had just won regionals; she could have been mistaken.

She didn’t even think about calling a cab or something, she let her feet dance away, taking her to her place without noticing.

“Goddammit, Sunmi…” Jeongyeon sighed once she threw herself onto the couch. She even broke her own rule of taking the shoes off at the door. That was the effect Sunmi had over her.

\--

“What the fuck even is this group chat?” Nayeon said, her brows furrowed in a mix of confusion and disgust. Jeongyeon laughed.

“It’s like half the popular kids from high school, half the theater kids.”

“Well, thanks, Seulgi, I hate it.”

“Nayeon… You were both of those kids.”

“Yoo Jeongyeon, shut your mouth.”

The younger girl chuckled but didn’t say another word. Instead, she pretended to watch the movie playing on the TV – she was too distracted to pay attention, thinking about what to say in the chat, worried about what Sunmi would think of her.

“You only agreed to be part of it because of Sunmi, right?” Nayeon teased her.

“No!” Not even Jeongyeon believed that. “I joined because I missed Seulgi, she’s cool.”

“Ok, let’s pretend I believe in any of that. You would never join a group chat with, like, anyone from high school.”

Jeongyeon didn’t know how to respond, so she just turned around and faced the TV once again.

“Jesus fucking Christ, you’re helpless. You still have a crush on Lee Sunmi.”

Jeongyeon didn’t answer that either, but her smile gave everything away.

\--

** high school but just high **

**lee sunmi**

_yo you guys want to hang out?_

_tonight_

_i’m boooooorrrreeeeedddd_

**19:16.**

**seulgi**

_ehhh idk_

_maybe, I’m kind of busy_

**19:18.**

**nayeon (big teeth)**

_I’m finishing some stuff over here with Ji but I’m free later!_

**19:21.**

**lee sunmi**

_omg tell jihyo I said hi!!_

**19:22.**

Jeongyeon typed an aswer and deleted it immediately afterwards about six times. She ultimately decided to stay quiet. The pressure of texting her high school crush and hanging out with her were terrifying.

As the minutes went slowly on, all that Jeongyeon could master to think was Sunmi. She was, at the same time, the high school queen and the coolest, nicest and most punk girl in town. Jeongyeon described Sunmi and her friends as “the cool kids”, which meant that they were popular but were not obnoxious. On the contrary, they were… cool. They hung out with every niche, were a part of every friend group and even went to The Bowl every weekend. “The Bowl” was what they called this small public pool near the school grounds that was closed for about five years at the time and people in her school just trespassed and made it the skater and punk crowd hot spot. And, of course, Jeongyeon also went there every weekend; at first, it was because Nayeon dragged her, but in the end, she found her crowd there, a lot of artists and generally inspiring people. She promised herself she would make a short film about that place one day.

Jeongyeon constantly eyed Sunmi on the other side of the pool, laughing and smoking with the Cool Kids. She wished she were there with her, laughing with her, touching her… She could only daydream. She was too awkward and not as cool, so she never even tried getting near them. It was a great source for inspiration, though, always wanting to reach out... Sunmi was her distant muse, per se. Not in a creepy way, Jeongyeon was never creepy, right?

“Right?” She said aloud while pacing around the room.

She looked at the clock, all the memories and obsessive thoughts fading away. Almost eight o’clock. She decided to pay The Bowl a visit, see if it was still alive or merely just a distant memory from the past.

It was still there. Almost everything exactly like it was six or seven years ago. The only difference was that there were about three different genres of music playing at the same times and there were kids riding scooters as well. Nonetheless, everything was at their places: the fire pit, the suspicious smoke, a thermal bottle with either coffee or booze, Sunmi smiling at her… Sunmi was smiling at her. Sunmi was there with her.

“Hey, stranger.” The older girl greeted with a smile when they got closer.

“Hey. Funny seeing you here.”

“And why is that, Yoo?”

“Oh, like… After all this time, of seeing you here every weekend. It’s just weird, I don’t know.” Jeongyeon started nervously scratching the back of her head.

“And it’s the first time you actually talk to me here. So, yeah, I’d say it’s pretty weird.”

“Oh, so we never talked in high school and you can just show up out of nowhere and start teasing me?”

“Yah! Shut up, Jeong!” Sunmi laughed and lightly pushed the younger girl, making her laugh too.

“But for real, why are you here? Weren’t you and Nayeon going to hang out?”

“Yeah, we were, but I think both of us forgot to text back and I just ended up here.”

“Still bored?”

“With you here? Not at all. Also, I have a mission.” Sunmi’s facial expressions became of Jeongyeon could have sworn to be the cutest thing she had ever seen. Her mischievous smile and almost failure of containing her laugh were endearing. “You see that guy with blue hair? He sells the best weed around here. My mission is to not only buy weed from him, but to also get a discount.”

“How’s that going to go?”

“I’ll seduce him, of course.”

“Of course…”

Sunmi chuckled and winked before walking over to the blue haired dealer. Jeongyeon watched and smiled as Sunmi fake laughed at everything the guy said and touched his arms. A couple of minutes later, the older girl returned with two small plastic packages. She led Jeongyeon to a ledge nearby, both sitting down, and asked her to hold the packages while she grabbed some rolling paper. She carefully and methodically rolled a joint, her lips pursed in a concentrated manner, and it was the most even, movie-like joint Jeongyeon had ever seen.

“Do you smoke?” The girl asked once she finished, her hand offering the blunt.

“It’s been a long time since I last smoked weed, I- I don’t know.”

“It’s ok. There’s cigarette down the street, if you want to. I remember you smoking some in high school.”

Sunmi lit the joint and puffed the smoke. The sight was so sensual, the older girl expression and smile so pleased, that Jeongyeon wanted to feel the same way, or at least get a little closer to the girl. After all, marijuana wasn’t something alien to her.

“Fuck it,” she said, grabbing the blunt from Sunmi’s fingers.

Thirty minutes later, they were at the convenience store down the streets, buying a cigarette pack and some snacks. They were, as Jeongyeon kept saying, “fucked up” and with growling stomachs.

Maybe it was the intensity and quality of the weed, or maybe because it had been years since Jeongyeon smoked, but the rest of the night when by as a blur. All she remembered was them sitting down on the sidewalk near The Bowl, eating foreign food and drinking something fuzzy, Jeongyeon wasn’t sure if it was soda or beer. Either way, they were laughing and talking like they never had.

“Oh, God, Sunmi…” The older girl said, unsure of how to finish her sentence, so she never did.

“What?”

“I just, I don’t know, I guess I needed this. To just let go for a night and have some fun. Thank you.”

Sunmi smiled brightly before speaking again.

“Well, I’m glad to know I’m a bad influence for Yoo Jeongyeon.” The other girl lightly shoved Sunmi, with laughter ringing in their ears. “I needed this too, Jeong. Especially the part where we talked. I’ve always wanted to talk to you like this.”

The mood suddenly grew thicker, or maybe it was Jeongyeon’s anxiety.

“Then why you never did?”

“I don’t know, I was shy, I guess.”

“You were not shy, Lee Sunmi.”

The younger girl chuckled, but also let out a frustrated grunt with her head turned up to the sky.

“I was intimidated by you, Jeong. You just always looked so effortlessly cool and unbotheredly bothered, if that even makes sense.”

“I don’t think that word exists, but no, it doesn’t make sense because I wasn’t cool. You were cool and _I_ was intimidated by you.”

“I’m the literal definition of ‘baby’, Yoo.”

“Now that I’ve talked to you, yeah, I agree.”

Eyes met, and nervous giggles were exchanged.

“I regret never talking to you, Jeongyeon. I’ve tried communicating through eye contact and smiles but it never worked.”

“Your smiles always fluster me, so I guess it was a good idea not talking to me after that, or I’d embarrass myself in front of you.”

“You said it in present tense. Do my smiles still fluster you?”

They did, and Jeongyeon’s flushed cheeks proved it. She cursed Sunmi in her head before babbling and not being physically able to form comprehensive words. Which made the older girl smile even bigger.

“Ok, stop that. I think that already answers your question.”

“I want to hear you say it.”

The sexual tension in the air made everything louder, amplified and heavier. Jeongyeon’s throat grew thick and her voice became hoarse.

“Yes,” she almost grumbled, her voice low.

Sunmi smirked and drew her face closer and closer to Jeongyeon’s until their lips were inches apart. However, neither of them made a single movement; and when Jeongyeon tried to, Sunmi smirked once again and pulled back a little, the distance between them growing once more. The older girl’s lips, though, went to the shell of Jeongyeon ears, where she whispered:

“I don’t kiss on first dates, even though that’s all I want right now.”

“Sometimes breaking rules is not all that bad.” Joengyeon whispered back.

She didn’t know where all of that boldness came from, but she was glad she said those words. Because, a couple of seconds later, Sunmi’s lips were on hers. Her heart beat faster and faster, at the same velocity in which her hunger and urgent need grew, and the same time, were satisfied. It was the perfect moment. Sunmi’s lips tasted like Coke and smoke, as addicting as ever.

“You make a mess out of me, Yoo Jeongyeon.”

Jeongyeon did not know how to respond to that with words, so she didn’t. Instead, she brought their lips together for a few seconds longer, until they broke apart once again.

It was late and, despite their energetic hearts, they were tired. They said their goodbyes, and started to part ways.

“I want you to text me sometime soon, Jeong. Don’t ignore me on the group chat, ok?” Sunmi yelled from across the street.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

With dumb and passionate smiles, they waved once again and returned to their homes.

\--

_nabongs_

_you’ll never believe what just happened_

**3:27. READ.**

_oh god_

_at 3 am only either bad stuff happens_

_or something really fucking good_

**3:28.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took a while, i've been having the biggest writer's block + lack of motivation in general  
> don't promise to update this so soon but i'm not abandoning it!! 
> 
> love u xx


	15. shards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chaeyoung cuts her finger, mina moves in, sana cries and tzuyu gets an old couch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also, just to let yall know, i'm only proofreading all of this right now lol so many typos on the previous chapters.. anyways, enjoy :))

Floor, wall, hand. Floor, wall, hand. Floor, wall, hand. Floor, wall, hand. Floor, wall, lamp.

Chaeyoung huffed in frustration. She got up from the ground to pick the rebellious tennis ball and clean up the lamp shards. She hated cleaning up messes when she was a kid, especially shards. To broom, to put it in a safe container, to hear her mother’s orders on how to do it properly or better. She hated it. She hated most things about her childhood as well.

“Fuck!” She hissed when a nib of glass cut her finger.

She rinsed it, her hip against the kitchen sink, blood going down the drain. The thoughts in her head only getting louder with the lack of distraction, the dance the water and her blood made on the shiny aluminum making her mind flow away. Not even the pain made her mind redirect itself. She could only think about how big of a selfish screw up she was.

What could she do, though? All her life the idea of love was never allowed, not while she lived under her mother’s roof. She barely thought about it, and when she did, it was like her mom knew it and immediately shut her down, whether it was by yelling for no reason, lecturing or making her clean up the entire house on her own. Love was not fair inside that house. So, when she grew up and found out she could finally breathe, be and love, it was all that she lived for. Setting her friends up on dates, flirting with everyone, writing way too many songs about, and, now, intervening in her friend’s love life like it was a game or a TV show. She was denied the right to be in love for most of her life, now that she could, hell, it was the only thing that mattered.

In the end, though, it wasn’t; and that was something Chaeyoung was finally starting to learn because of Jeongyeon. Eventually she had to hit that brick wall, Jeongyeon was merely a catalyst – she was thankful for her friend. Nevertheless, it hurt. The truth hurt like a punch on the throat.

The sick, twisted reason why she did all of it was to make her friends happy. She suffered growing up and did not want anyone else to feel the same way, so she tried her best to make everyone happy and in love, because, in her mind, love equaled happiness. Perhaps all of the gushy novels, movies and TV shows she watched disfigured that mathematic conclusion. Maybe love was indeed happiness, she was just wrong about love. Maybe romantic love isn’t enough, or perhaps just not the only kind of love people needed. She already knew that, of course, she loved her friends and her brother. Although, it had never crossed her mind that romantic love was not a superior and bigger thing.

She blamed the years of parental emotional abuse.

How long did she stand there? How much water had she wasted? She couldn’t tell, but the bleeding on her finger was controlled. She closed the tap and finished cleaning up.

//

“Well, I believe that’s the last bag.” Mina said, cleaning up her hands.

“Finally!” Momo sighed and sat down on the doorsteps of Mina’s place. Or better, mansion.

“Lazy ass…”

“Shut up, Tzu.”

“Well, Mina. I hope moving in with Jeong, even if it’s just for a little, helps you.” Jihyo said after rolling her eyes at the two friends teasing each other.

“I hope so too, Ji. Thanks for everything.”

Jihyo smile was weak, but it was sincere.

“Well, if you excuse me now, I’ll be heading home. Is that ok?”

“Of course! You’re free to go.”

Momo could tell Mina was afraid of upsetting Jihyo and she could tell everyone could tell that Jihyo was not ok. After looking at the other girls and seeing no one was going to speak up, she decided to take action.

“Are you ok, Ji? You’re awfully quiet today.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just…” Jihyo looked at the worried eyes of her friends, her strong posture broke down with a sigh. “Sana and I had a fight this morning and she still hasn’t talked to me since… I don’t know what to do, honestly.”

“It’s ok, Ji. Couples fight, I’m sure you guys will figure this out. Can we help with anything?” Tzuyu asked.

“No, no, it’s fine. I just need some time alone to think, I guess. Thanks anyway.”

“Of course, we’re here for you.” Momo said, putting a hand on Jihyo’s shoulder.

“Like you are here for us. We got you.”

“Love you guys.”

The four hugged before Jihyo left.

“Well… I guess that explains why Sana didn’t answer us in the group chat, Mo.”

“Yeah, I guess so. I’ll go check on her. After helping you move all of this stuff, of course.”

“Don’t worry, Momoring. Mina, Jeong and I can handle this. Tell Sana I said hi.”

“Thank you, Tzuyu.” Momo’s smile was bright. She was thankful for her friends. “Mina, text me if you need anything. Bye!” She said already walking to her car.

//

“You kissed Lee fucking Sunmi?!” Nayeon screamed.

“Jesus fucking Christ, do you need to yell?”

“I mean, yes!”

“Well, technically she kissed me; but, yeah, we kissed.”

“I can’t believe it. Yoo Jeongyeon is officially cool. You got weed at The Bowl, got high and kissed Sunmi. If we were in high school… you’d be the coolest kid.”

“Thank goodness we graduated years ago.”

Jeongyeon’s phone ringed a message notification, another text from said crush. She smile and texted back, completely forgetting about Nayeon.

“You’re really whipped, huh?”

“Let me have some fun, bunny.” The younger girl said in a jokingly manner.

Suddenly, Nayeon crossed the small distance between the two couches they were sitting in, and jumped on Jeongyeon’s lap, hugging her tightly.

“I love you so much, Jeong, I’m so proud of you, you have no idea. You deserve all the love and happiness in the world.” Nayeon’s whispered confession caught Jeongyeon in surprise, the amount of love shared between the two was too much to handle and made her shed a tear.

“I love you too, Nabongs. Thank you. Now get off and stop making me cry, Mina and the girls will be here any second.”

Nayeon chuckled and pulled back from the hug, revealing some tears on her face as well. She kissed Jeongyeon’s forehead, taking advantage of the element of surprise and Jeongyeon’s momentary softness. Not without protests.

“Honestly, I kind of forgot Mina was moving in today. Got too caught up on the gossip.”

Jeongyeon rolled her eyes and texted Mina.

_are you guys coming soon?_

_nayeon is too annoying, i need back up_

**15:06. SENT.**

//

“Chaengie?”

“It’s unlocked, come in. I’m in my bedroom.”

Floor, wall, hand. Floor, wall hand. Chaeyoung didn’t learn from her mistakes. Whether it was a cut finger or a broken heart. She hated herself for it.

“What are you doing?”

“Making the ball bounce.”

“You’re going to break something.”

“I already did.” Chaeyoung showed her wounded finger.

“Jesus Christ.” Dahyun said in a sigh, sitting down next to Chaeyoung on the floor.

“It’s Jason Bourne.”

“Shut up. Are you ok?”

“No. Where’s Tzuyu?”

“Helping Mina moving in. Want to talk about it?”

“Ah, yes. I forgot about that. And no.”

“You didn’t forget it, you probably repressed it. And ok, I’ll be here if you want to.”

Floor, wall, hand. Floor. Chaeyoung let the ball fall out of her hands and she looked deep into Dahyun eyes, which held nothing but love and support for her; a hint of pity, maybe.

“Thank you.”

Dahyun knew her better than she did herself. It was crazy how the girl knew exactly how she was feeling, what type of mood she was in and how to handle it all. Chaeyoung felt bad sometimes because she had many different moods, but, somehow, for Dahyun it seemed like it was natural reading her mind. Chaeyoung was thankful. Sometimes she would think it was a curse, not being able to keep her feelings for herself, but ultimately it was for the best.

“What’s on your mind?” The older girl asked, after some time clearly searching for the right words.

Chaeyoung smiled.

“Right now or in general?”

“Both.”

“Right now, Mina. In general, a lot, but mostly thinking about how much of a fuck up I am.”

“You still love her.”

“I thought that was obvious…?”

“Oh, it was, don’t worry. What’s not obvious for you, apparently, is that you’re not a fuck up, you’re just trying your best in this cruel, cruel world.”

Dahyun didn’t know what Chaeyoung did. That realization had never hit her, but it did in that moment and her chest ached. She couldn’t look in her best friend’s eyes. She did not know what to do, to tell or not to tell?

“Dahyunnie…” It was almost a cry, an apology in silence.

Dahyun shifted her position, noticing the change of mood.

Chaeyoung had to be a better person, for Dahyun especially. It hurt, but she had to do it.

“You’re going to fucking hate me, but…” She swallowed dry. “Remember when you were confused about Sana and Jihyo and their mixed signals?”

“Yes…”

“Well, I- I talked to Sana about it. I confronted her and it was wrong, it was not my place and I should not have interfered. I’m sorry.”

“What do you mean you talked to her?”

“I told her to stop playing with your feelings and stuff.”

They were both tense, sitting up straight. Chaeyoun had hopeful and teary eyes, trying to read Dahyun’s facial expression.

“What did she say?”

“I- I can’t tell you that.” Chaeyoung’s head dropped. “As I said, it’s not my place, I’m done with all of that. You should talk to her.”

“Jesus Christ, ok. Seems really fucking bad if you can’t tell me, but ok.”

Dahyun kept looking at a distant point, probably trying to process everything. Chaeyoung kept biting her nails or her lip, anxious.

“When you say ok, do you mean…”

“I forgive you, Chaengie. I’m kind of mad, but I think I understand where you were coming from.”

“It’s still not an excuse.”

“You clearly regret it. What is done is done, I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. You are right, though, I do need to talk to Sana and Jihyo. I was and am too scared, but it must be done, right?” 

Chaeyoung nodded.

“You’re brave, Dahyun. I try to be like you, you know?”

“Yah!” Dahyun blushed from the sudden words of affection and jokingly shoved the younger girl.

“But I love you!” Chaeyoung said between laughs.

“I love you too, but I’m mad at you at the moment. Not only from all the Sana thing but also for making me anxious!”

“If I told you what Sana told me _she_ would be mad at me and I don’t want that, it’s a slippery slope!”

They kept teasing each other for way too long and it was the first time that week Chaeyoung had genuinely laughed that hard.

//

“Sana?” Momo lightly knocked on the half-closed door. She could hear her best friend’s sniffs.

“I’m here. Come in.” Sana’s voice was hoarse from crying. It hurt Momo’s heart.

The older girl carefully walked in the bedroom and sat on Sana’s bed, where the girl was found completely covered by her blankets. She ran her hand on the girl’s back, calming her down, but it only led to more tears.

She waited until Sana stopped crying again.

“What happened?”

“Jihyo and I had a fight.”

“Want to talk about it?”

Sana nodded under the blankets and pulled them down afterwards.

“Remember when I talked about her about Dahyun and she said she was ok with everything? Apparently she wasn’t. And I wasn’t either.”

“Sana, things like this take time, and work, and communication. It’s ok, things like these happen, it’s normal. Was it that bad?”

“I know it’s normal, but… Yeah, it was kind of bad, there were screaming and tears.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Satang.”

The younger girl sat up and hugged Momo.

“I love you, Momoring. Hey, weren’t you supposed to be helping Mina and Jeongyeon?”

“They have Tzuyu and Nayeon, they’ll be fine. I’m here to help you.”

“Jihyo told you about it, right?”

“Maybe. What matters is that I’m here now.”

//

“I hope you don’t mind the size of the bedroom, Minari.”

“Don’t worry, it’s perfect. I’m tired of that big and empty house. This is cozy.”

“A nice way of saying poor.” Jeongyeon joked, leading the Japanese girl to the living room. “Well, now that I don’t have a personal office, I put it all in this corner and you can use that desk as well, you know, make a working or studying place.”

“I’d love that!” Mina bright smile was intoxicating, everyone in the room was clearly happier with it’s presence.

“Well, Jeong, you should be the one thanking her, you have a new couch now.” Tzuyu teased.

“I can finally feel comfortable in this living room!” Nayeon splayed down on the new couch.

“Actually, Jeong, can I have your old sofa? It’s for an assignment.”

“Sure, Tzu. What is it about?”

“The title of the photo shoot is ‘Decay’.”

“Oh.”

The four of them laughed. Jeongyeon got fake-angry and sat down on Nayeon’s stomach, extorting screams and slaps from the older girl. Mina and Tzuyu were cuddled up on the other couch laughing at the scene.

Once Nayeon freed herself from Jeongyeon, who claimed the sofa for herself, she got up and announced she was going home to check up on Jihyo. Mina and Tzuyu told about the fight and how upset Jihyo seemed.

Just as she did, though, her phone buzzed. Nayeon’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion reading the screen.

“What happened?” Tzuyu asked.

“Jihyo texted me. She asked me to come home later and that something came up.”

“Wanna bet how much that that something is Sana?” Jeongyeon said, replicating one of Nayeon’s old joke.

“I sure hope it does.” Tzuyu and Mina said in unison.

Jeongyeon laughed at the meme reference.

“You guys have to stop hanging out with Jeong and Chaeng, I swear.”


	16. announcement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chaeyoung is lonely, momo is the best cook, and some people reveal some things....

It had been a little over two weeks since Chaeyoung had been out of the loop. Two weeks since the whole hospital situation; and in that time, Chaeyoung decided to not know. She hadn’t spoken with anyone besides Tzuyu and Momo in those fourteen and something days. Jeongyeon, she knew she was still a little bit mad at her and probably busy going on dates with Sunmi. Dahyun, Sana and Jihyo just disappeared, Chaeyoung had a feeling something was going on, but again, she decided not to know, it was none of her business. Mina, well, she was trying to get over her for the nth time.

She was bored. She had finished two remaining projects and she was bored. Tzuyu wouldn’t answer her texts – she never did because she would barely look at her phone, only to talk to Elkie. Therefore, Chaeyoung decided to show up at Momo’s place without warning once again. She knew the girl didn’t work on that day and that, for some reason, Sana was never there, so she could feel easy and at home.

When she got there, though, ­- Momo gave her a copy of the key after Chaeyoung told the mess that was her mental state – she didn’t see Momo. All she had found was a giggly Nayeon splattered on the couch, watching some old sitcom TV show.

“Oh, hey Chaengie. Momo will be back soon, she went grocery shopping. Come in.” Nayeon’s smile was welcoming.

“Oh, ok.”

“She’ll bring enough food for all of us, don’t worry. Come watch dumb TV shows with me.”

They watched the rest of the episode that was on together. It was silent, except for when they laughed. And when Nayeon spoke out of the blue.

“You know, you and I are not that different, Chaeng.”

Chaeyoung was, and probably looked utterly confused, which brought a giggle to Nayeon’s throat, and led her to further explain:

“We both have traumas and mommy issues. We don’t know how to handle our feelings or express them in a healthy way. We both have been continuously heartbroken, no matter when or with whom. It’s just… I don’t know, we share very similar stories, you know?”

“Huh… Yeah, I guess so. Never stopped to think about that.”

“Me neither. My therapist pointed that out and it made a lot of sense.”

“Is that why Momo is so fond of us? Maybe she has a kink on emotionally abused people.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t doubt that.”

Momo opened the door right when they started laughing, grocery bags up to her face, but she still managed to talk.

“What are you guys laughing at?”

“You.” Chaeyoung and Nayeon answered at the same time, which put a pout on Momo’s face.

Momo stared at the duo and made no efforts in teasing them or knowing what they were talking about.

“Ok, whatever, nerds. Who’ helping me make some fancy pasta?”

\--

“Wow, Momo! This pesto sauce is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten, honestly… It’s divine!”

“Thank you, baby, I-”

“Wait!” Chaeyoung said suddenly. “You talk about me to your therapist?”

“W- What?” Momo asked, pasta falling down from her mouth.

“Oh-” Nayeon started, clearing her throat before speaking. “Yeah, I talk about you and the rest of the gang to my therapist, yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I- I don’t know, it clicked just now. It made me feel a little special, I don’t know…”

Next thing they knew, Nayeon was hugging a blushed Chaeyoung’s neck, the only part of her body available why sitting down for dinner.

“You are special, Chaeyoungie!” Momo said, after finally swallowing the rest of her food.

“I love you, could you please adopt me?”

“Well, you’re already eating from my plate for free, so…”

//

“So…? Anything you want to share with me, little miss Minatozaki?”

It had been days, maybe even weeks since the two roommates had a face to face, sitting down conversation that lasted more than two minutes. Sana was constantly at Jihyo’s place and had barely texted her or the group chat – in her defense, no one was talking in the group chat.

“Ok, miss Hirai, maybe I do. I’m sorry I kept you out of the loop, just a lot going on and I needed this time with Jihyo… and Dahyun.” Sana said the last two words with a smirk.

“I’m guessing everything ended up well.”

“Yes! Oh my God, it did!” Sana sighed and melted into the couch, relieve, happiness and love exuding from her smile. “Jihyo and I spent like a week figuring shit out, talking about scenarios and hypotheticals, and all that jazz. We finally discovered the best dynamic for the both of us and we _finally_ talked to Dahyun about the whole thing.”

“How did she react?”

“Argh! It was so cute, she’s so cute!”

//

“Wait, wait, wait. Sana just randomly called you up and was like ‘come over, let’s have a threesome’?”

“No, Tzuyu! Listen, will you? She texted saying like ‘hey, let’s talk’, and we did for what felt like two days, honestly. We had a _lot_ to catch up. Anyways, they said that they were both romantically and physically interested in me and I laughed because it had to be a joke, right?”

“Right…” Chaeyoung said with a suspicious face.

“Except it wasn’t! Wait, did you guys already know?”

“Maybe…”

“That’s what Sana told me that night, Dubu. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise!”

“Ok, whatever. It wasn’t a joke! They for real have feelings for me just like I have for them and my mind was blown. So of course I took a couple of days to think about stuff and figure out if I really wanted this and if I truly reciprocated the feelings. In the end I just said fuck it and…”

//

“She was so squeamish and her face turned red. She thought it was a joke, Momo!”

“I mean, I would too, imagine having two of the hottest girls tell you they are crushing on you, like…”

“Are you calling Jihyo hot? ‘Cause, yeah, she is. Anyway… we’re all dating now!”

//

“So like… a throuple?” Tzuyu asked.

“Yes, I guess that’s the term.”

“Oh my God, Dahyun! I’m so happy for you guys! This is like a dream come true, honestly.”

“So you’ve always shipped us?”

“Yes!” Both Chaeyoung and Tzuyu affirmed at the same time.

“It feels like everyone knew this and I’ve been the dumb one left out…”

//

“Wait, oh my God! I’ve just realized something. This throuple is the conjunction of the three original friend groups!”

“Holy shit, you’re right. One from the Japanese Hotties, one from the School Meal Club and the other from… Did we nickname Jihyo, Nayeon and Jeong?”

“Uh… not sure, actually.”

//

“So like, you’re the first ones to know this and-”

Tzuyu laughed.

“I doubt it, Dubu. You think Sana didn’t already tell Momo? And Mina?”

“And that Jihyo is not gushing about you guys to Nayeon and Jeong?” Chaeyoung added.

“Well… You guys have a point.” Dahyun’s smile turned into a pout and she groaned in frustration. “Sana, Ji and I were going to have an announcement party, which was just going to be an excuse to bring the gang together at the same place!”

“You guys can still do that, Chaengie and I will pretend to be surprised, yeah?”

“Yeah…”

Chaeyoung got caught up thinking about seeing Mina again after a while, not to mention all of her friends all coupled up, or throupled up.

//

“Dahyun, Ji and I are gonna throw some sort of party to make an official announcement and pronounce our undying love for each other and all that normal throuple stuff. I was thinking next weekend.”

“That sounds cute and like an excuse to get drunk, I’m in, Satang. But I think Chaeyoung has a gig this weekend…”

“Oh… We’ll make it at Chaengie’s gig, then.”

//

Mina closed the entrance door with a huff.

“Everything ok, Minari?” Jeongyeon asked looking away from the TV.

“Yeah, yeah… Just stressed out with work and my father. All good, though. It’s finally Friday. What are you guys watching?”

“A British Baking show.” Nayeon answered with her mouth full of popcorn.

Mina sat down next to Jihyo on the couch, hugging the older friend a bit.

“Oh God… Now I’m hungry.” The Japanese girl said after watching five minutes of the show, which drew a couple of giggles from her friends.

“I’ve bought your favorite noodles, by the way. It’s in the pantry!” Jeongyeon half-shouted once Mina made her way to the kitchen.

“Thanks, Jeong!”

A few minutes and a couple of microwave beeps, Mina returned to her spot in the living room. Once she did, Jihyo got up and turned the volume down, raising confusion from the other three girls present.

“I just… I just wanted to let you guys know that Sana, Dahyun and I are dating. As in like… the three of us. We’re a throuple now.”

The room fell silent for a few seconds. Jeongyeon was thinking of what to say that was both supportive but not too surprised or that made the whole thing a big deal or something exotic. A loud Nayeon interrupted her slow thoughts, though.

“Finally!” The older girl said.

Everyone laughed briefly and Jihyo turned the TV volume up once again. Jeongyeon squeezed the girl’s arms, showing her silent support. Mina joined in by resting her head on Jihyo’s shoulders.

Jeongyeon smiled wide. She loved her tiny new family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly... i almost gave up on this lol been really busy trying to keep my mental health stable and i also started recording an album?? writing songs really drain my creative juices, sorry if this is poorly written lmao
> 
> have a good weekend :))


	17. changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hewwo, yes i changed the work's title, it was grammatically annoying me
> 
> sorry for the loooong hiatus, i hope i can finish this soon! it's coming to an end aaaaaaaa

"Hey, Momo." Mina said quietly, her voice barely notable.

"Hey, Minari. What's up?"

They had just taken a shower after an impromptu dance session. A much needed quality time the duo needed after reconciling from the distance they both chose to ignore. Momo still felt stupid for only speaking up after Mina had a panic attack. But there they were, sitting on the sidewalk of Momo’s dance studio, just looking and breathing the night air.

“I’m sorry, Mina.” She said all of the sudden.

“For what?” Mina asked after a chuckle.

“I don’t know. For everything, I guess.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Momoring. You know I love you no matter what, right?”

“And I love you no matter what, Minari.”

They both hugged shortly but the older girl kept her arm around Mina’s shoulder. Mina sighed loudly and relaxed under Momo’s body.

“You know… I’ve been thinking about quitting my job.”

“Eh?” Momo was shocked by the sudden confession, especially because Mina would give all of her blood and tears for her job at her dad’s company.

“I’ve been thinking about it ever since you opened the dance studio, actually. Sitting at a desk and organizing files, or whatever, was never my dream. My dream has always been to dance. And yeah, making it a hobby was fun but… I can’t keep working for my dad any longer. It’s exhausting. I want to do something that I love, you know?”

Momo shed a tear, and she didn’t know why, maybe she was a bit overly emotional that night, but seeing her friend make a decision this big and follow her dreams made her the happiest person in the world.

“Mina, I’d be more than happy to welcome you as my business partner. You actually understand numbers and is the best dancer I know. As long as you’re happy, my doors are open.”

“Thank you, Momoring. I really appreciate it.” Mina said with a raspy voice, cleaning a small tear with the back of her hand.

“I’m proud of you.”

They both giggled, maybe because of the emotional feeling the conversation had brought, or maybe just because they were simply happy. Either way, they both let out a sigh and looked at the moon for a few more minutes.

//

“Can I play it one more time?”

“Chaeyoung, look, I love you very much but I’ve been listening to the same song for two hours and I don’t know if I can listen to it one more time.” Dahyun spoke, pinching her nose bridge.

“Easy, Dahyun. Chaengie, the song is amazing. You have nothing to worry about. You’ll just exhaust your voice and your fingers if you play it more. Just put the guitar down and rest, yeah? You’ll do great.” Tzuyu was the calming voice between the three stressed out friends.

“Yes, sorry Chaengie, the song is really good.”

“Ok… If you guys say so.” Chaeyoung put the guitar away and dropped onto the couch alongside Dahyun and Tzuyu.

“Why are you this nervous? Is there something bugging you?”

“I’m fine, Tzuyu, it’s just… Mina will be there. All of the gang will be there…” Chaeyoung started picking on her nails and biting her lips.

Dahyun didn’t say anything, just got up and started making chamomile tea while the smaller friend vented.

“Why are you so worried about Mina? Did something else happen?” Tzuyu asked after a second.

“Nothing happened, but half of the songs I’m going to perform are about her… What if she connects the dots?”

“Isn’t that what you want, though? Deep down, at least.” Dahyun said as she put the tea bags into the mugs.

Chaeyoung growled and looked at the ceiling, reflecting on her friend’s question. There was some molding and cracks where the ceiling met the walls. Maybe that was where her upstairs neighbor’s bathroom was. _“Maybe that’s where my heart is”_ , she thought. Later, the analogy didn’t make much sense, but in that moment it did. It was something about water flushing her away and only leaving the ugly parts she didn’t care about cleaning at all. The pipes needed to be fixed.

“The pipes need to be fixed…” She mumbled.

“What pipes?” Dahyun asked, handing her a mug of tea.

Chaeyoung pointed up at where the molding was. Her friends were confused, but didn’t question; they indeed needed to be fixed or replaced.

Chaeyoung only spoke again after finishing her tea, Mina and the upcoming gig at a bigger bar long forgotten. Dahyun and Tzuyu were talking about school and art projects. Meanwhile Chaeyoung’s mind was elsewhere. She didn’t know the exact location, just not there.

“Fuck it.”

“Fuck what, Chaengie?” Dahyun asked.

“Better, fuck who?” Tzuyu added.

Chaeyoung stood up and said: “Just fuck it. I’ll play my heart out on that stage and I don’t care if Mina understands the message. I mean, I kind of do, but I won’t let it affect me.”

“Hell yeah, confident Chaeyoung is back, baby!” Dahyun cheered.

//

Jihyo closed her apartment’s door and relaxed her shoulders, letting out a sigh, followed by a shy smile.

“How did it go?” Jeongyeon asked with a mouth full of popcorn.

“God, you’re still here?”

“We got too caught up on this new show, it’s called- never mind, you wouldn’t care.” Nayeon said and quickly went back to watching TV.

“Exactly, I wouldn’t. I only care about tonight’s date!” Jihyo squealed and quickly jumped on the couch like a little kid. “So, I thought it would’ve gone to shit because Dahyun said she couldn’t make it in time, something about Chaengie freaking out. But then, Sana calmed me down like only she can and everything went well! We met Dubu at the restaurant instead of picking her up – oh God, she’s such an angel. And it was just-”

“Perfectly splendid!” Nayeon interrupted, mimicking a British accent.

“It’s from the show we’re watching.” Jeongyeon explained after seeing Jihyo’s confused expression.

“Well… At the end we kissed! Not at the same time, but the three of us kissed before dropping Dahyun off at her apartment and argh! It was magical.”

“I can see, you have literal heart eyes right now.” Nayeon pointed at Jihyo’s face.

“You’re glowing, Ji, and I couldn’t be happier for you!”

The three girls squealed and hugged each other.

“So, what’s this show about?”

“Ok, so it’s a ghost story-” Jeongyeon started.

“La la la la la! I don’t want to hear it anymore!” Jihyo closed her eyes and ears while the two older girls laughed at their easily scared friend.

\--

“Are you ever going to tell us more about Sunmi or are we going to pretend you guys aren’t in love?” Jihyo asked in the middle of an episode.

“Yah!” Jeongyeon hit her younger friend with a pillow. Still, she didn’t say anything about her crush.

//

“Hello, hello. Testing.” Chaeyoun tapped the mic, making sure it was working well, evem though she did three sound checks that afternoon. “Ok. Hey, everyone. My name is Son Chaeyoung and I’m going to play some songs for you guys. Hope you enjoy it.”

Tender melodies came from her beat up guitar – that added style, as Jeongyeon would say. Her soft but powerful voice filled the room, even if people were talking and glasses were rumbled on the waiters’ trays. Her songs were simple, yet captivating.

“Hey, Jeong. Just wanted to say that it’s nice you invited Sunmi. It’s been a while since I’ve talked to her.” Nayeon said a couple of minutes after Chaeyoung started singing.

“Yeah, and it took way too long for Jeong to invite me to hang out with you guys.” Sunmi answered before Jeongyeon could, a smirk plastered on her face, teasing Jeongyeon and making her blush a litte.

“Well, Nayeon, it’s my pleasure. You see, Sunmi doesn’t have much playtime so I took pity on her and let her have a walk.” Jeongyeon teased back.

“Yah! Stopped talking about me as if I’m a dog!” Sunmi lightly slapped her shoulders while everybody giggled.

Mina seemed distant, she kept looking hazily from the stage, to her cup and to the holding hands of her friends on the table, back and forth. She laughed quietly when everybody else did, despite not knowing what was so funny since she was distracted by Chaeyoung’s face and the beautiful words coming out of her mouth. Jeongyeon noticed and made a mental note to ask if she was ok. In the meantime, she prayed her friends would be a distraction and a good source of entertainment for Mina.

And it did. Between stories from high school and Dahyun’s funny anecdotes, Mina seemed to focus more on her friends and let Chaeyoung simply be background music. Except for the last song.

“Ok, guys, this one I wrote quite a while ago but I never released it. In fact, this is the first time I’m playing in front of more than one person. It’ll be our little secret, ok?”

The crowd of about two hundred people – it was a big pub packed with people – chuckled alongside Chaeyoung, paying full attention on the small girl who was about to sing.

A soft but happy melody started playing, and soon she started singing, mellow lyrics and tones.

_Sometimes I feel like a_

_Runaway_

_But you’re here so_

_I’d rather stay_

_Started with a kiss_

_That turned into songs_

_That turned into things_

_I never want to miss_

_It’s funny how the result_

_Of the way you laugh_

_Of the way I fell_

_Came out positive_

_I never want to heal_

_From you_

…

The song continued, but Jeongyeon stopped paying attention to the lyrics. She watched Mina as tears kept streaming down her face and a smile didn’t leave its place. She was a mix of emotions, and Jeongyeon couldn’t figure out which ones. She wasn’t the only one who noticed, Momo, Sana and Tzuyu were also looking and Mina from time to time, quietly checking up on her.

“Thank you.” Chaeyoung herself was crying a little at the end of the song. The crowd applauded her as she saluted them in gratitude.

Chaeyoung left with a smile on her face, but a hand wiping the tears away. Mina got up the table and, without a word, left somewhere. Jeongyeon guessed she went looking for Chaeyoung backstage.

//

The night sky was beautiful that night. She would’ve taken the air better if she wasn’t smoking a cigarette. With every puff of smoke came out a sigh. The remaining of the tears drying on her face. But the view was lovely. It was quite a tall building and she could look over some of the city. The flashing lights, the urban noises, it all somehow calmed Chaeyoung down. She needed it, she was preparing herself to go meet her friends, see Mina’s face and maybe apologize to Jeongyeon and Sana and Dahyun and Jihyo… She owed a lot of apologies – or at least she felt like she did.

“Chaeyoung!”

She knew that voice…

“Mina?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you liked it :))
> 
> sorry if there are typos!! i'll reread it tomorrow


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